Loyalty of the Ultimate Angel
by FablehavenFan
Summary: In their continuing quest to discover the rest of the relics, Seth, Kendra and their friends come across more lost worlds and creatures. However an even greater difficulty they must overcome includes making some rather tough decisions, and learning just how hard it can be to truly satisfy everybody.
1. Bon Voyage

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fablehaven, or anything that originated within the books.**

**A/N: This story is the seventh in a series that I've been writing. Please make sure that you've read the stories in order before starting with this one.**

**Also, while I will strive to update this story whenever I can, I cannot promise that updates will always be consistent. Please hang in there if it's been a while since the latest chapter has been posted. Thank you.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Bon Voyage<strong>

High above the preserve of Fablehaven, a thick layer of silver clouds had spanned across the entire sky from one end of the horizon to the other. A torrent of rain was falling from the clouds in a heavy downpour, soaking everything situated upon the ground below.

Fortunately, nearly all of the creatures that lived on the preserve had a place to take refuge, with the exception of a few that didn't mind staying out in the rain. As for the human residents of Fablehaven, they were all cozy and dry while inside the main house.

Alone in her bedroom, Kendra pulled open the top drawer of her dresser and proceeded to paw through her belongings. As the roof of the house also served as the ceiling of her attic bedroom, Kendra was able to hear the sound of raindrops excessively beating against the roof.

Kendra felt around in her drawer, which contained only a small number of socks and underwear, but not much else. Once she placed her hand on what she had been searching for, Kendra picked up and pulled a pair of heart-shaped sunglasses out of the drawer.

Using her free hand to shut the drawer, Kendra proceeded to bend down in front of an open suitcase that was laying down on the floor next to the dresser. She then plunked the glasses down into the suitcase, where they landed upon a stack of folded clothes.

Next, Kendra closed the suitcase and zipped it up, which proved to be a rather snug fit, due to the high amount of luggage she had packed into it. Nevertheless, Kendra succeeded in closing the suitcase, although it was considerably bulgy.

Kendra then turned the closed suitcase upright, so that its wheels were now on the bottom. She proceeded to roll the suitcase across the floor of her room and over to the door, which she opened. As she walked down the stairs towards the second floor, she cautiously towed the suitcase behind her, feeling as it plonked down each and every step.

Kendra soon made her way down to the first floor, where most of the other family members had already gathered around in the living room. Several other bags of luggage had already been lined up in one spot, prompting Kendra to place hers amongst the rest.

"Took you long enough," said Seth, who was sitting down on one of the couches next to Ingrid. "The rest of us have been waiting patiently for you to finish."

"I just didn't want to forget anything," said Kendra. "Besides, we have plenty of time until our flight."

"This is so stupid. Why do we even have to take an airplane, anyway? We have a translocator! It can get us to where we want to go in an instant. Any time we want!"

"Seth," said Grandpa, "I completely understand your reasoning."

"This _is_ supposed to be a vacation," said Ingrid. "If we used the translocator, we'd be cutting out the trouble of travelling to the airport and going on a long plane ride."

"I couldn't agree more," said Grandpa. "But this vacation you're going on needs to be as authentic as possible so as to not arouse any unwanted suspicion. I mean, why would a group from Connecticut be staying at a hotel in Hawaii, yet not require transportation to travel there?"

"The things we have to put up with," said Warren. "Just so that we can finally relax."

"You all certainly deserve it," said Grandma. "Over the past few years, you've dealt with demons, the Sphinx, dragons, evil fairies, negafae, sorcerers and more. You're more than overdue for a vacation."

"And a proper one at that," said Seth. "The last time we took a trip to Hawaii, things didn't go so well..."

"Yeah," said Ingrid. "You'd been possessed by Navarog. And he made you steal that Drakesoul that the other Knights of the Dawn had recovered."

"Don't remind me," said Seth, squinting his eyes. "I still have bad memories of that awful experience."

"Seth, I didn't mean it like that," said Ingrid. "Besides, that was almost a year ago, was it not?"

"Yeah. But it was still on a vacation to Hawaii."

Well, this vacation's gonna be a whole lot nicer," said Warren. "We're going strictly for pleasure. And this time, we know that you're not possessed."

"It's about time," said Kendra. "Even though we haven't had anything major to deal with since we defeated Murdred and Nemenemi, I still feel like I need a break."

"Even without any adventures," said Grandpa, "you kids have still been busy with your schoolwork and helping out on the preserve. Plus you've just gotten your learner's permit, Kendra, so that's been another task you've been working with."

"Driving is nice," said Kendra, but I think I've been spoiled by flying around on dragons and unicorns."

"What am I?" asked Bracken with a chuckle. "Your chauffeur?"

"Oh, Bracken! You're coming too. You know that."

Warren looked at his watch. "We've still got a bit of time before we have to be at the airport. We can say goodbye to some of our friends before we have to go."

"We might as well do that now," said Ingrid.

"I already said farewell to Newel and Doren this morning," said Seth. "They seemed pretty peeved that they aren't coming."

"Well, it'd be hard for satyrs to come along on a vacation," said Clover. "Especially is normal humans see them as goats."

Mr. Sorenson laughed. "Those two practically live their lives as a vacation. What with all that TV watching and junk food eating that they're so famously known for."

"Well, I told them that I'd bring them back some cool things as souvenirs," said Seth. "That seemed to soften the blow a bit."

"Could you imagine if those two actually found a way to sneak along?" said Ingrid. "They'd get into trouble faster than they could start it."

Warren laughed. "Come on, let's go already."

Warren led Kendra, Seth, Ingrid, Bright, Bracken and Clover into the kitchen and passed through the back door. As the group made their way outside, the group immediately found themselves drenched by the rain that was pouring down upon them.

"Man!" cried Seth, holding up his arms in an attempt to shield his head from the rain. "This rain is brutal!"

"Have some umbrellas," said Clover, as she waved her hands. Green sparkles went flying into the air, causing a green umbrella to magically appear above everybody's head. Additionally, the umbrellas were levitating in mid-air, in spite of nobody holding their handles.

"Much better," said Warren, as he turned to face Clover and proceeded to bestow a kiss upon her lips. "You are such a delight. Don't know what I'd do without you."

"Oh, you're just saying that," said Clover with a smirk.

"No, I really mean it," said Warren, as the group began walking through the backyard. "You make me so happy. If something were to happen to you, I don't know what I'd do."

"Don't worry about that. If anything, I should worry more about losing you. With all due respect, humans don't live very long."

"Maybe I'll decide to become an eternal," said Warren with a smile. "That's always an option."

The group soon made their way towards the far end of the yard, where the dragons' cave was located. Once they entered the cave, everybody grabbed their umbrella and proceeded to pull them down from being suspended in the air, holding onto the handle in their hand.

Nesting against the far wall of the cave was the entire dragon family of Fablehaven; Raxtus, Geminus, Vanessa, Skyfrost and Firesquall. Floating in the air around them was a court of colorful fairies.

"Hey everybody!" said Bracken, as he walked through the cave towards the dragons.

"What's with all the fairies?" asked Ingrid.

"They're seeking shelter from the rain," replied Geminus. "And... we _are_ fairy dragons. It's a perfect match."

"Some of you are..." said Skyfrost, as he let out a sigh. "Why do we have to stay cooped up in this cave anyway? A little rain never hurt anybody."

"Says you," said Firesquall. "I've never been a big fan of the rain. It's all wet and watery."

"So, I take it you guys are about to leave to go on your trip, yes?" asked Raxtus.

"Sure are," said Kendra. "We're just here to say our final goodbyes and then we'll be off. To Hawaii!"

"Are you sure we can't come?" asked Firesquall. "A sunny beach sounds like paradise to me."

"No way," said Bright, shaking her head. "A resort like the one we'll be going to is no place for dragons."

"Aw, come on!" griped Skyfrost. "That's not fair! Why... it's discrimination!"

"Sorry, but you dragons are far too big to come along," said Clover.

"What about Vanessa?" asked Firesquall, scooping up his foster sister between his wings and hoisting her up a few feet into the air. Vanessa looked around for a moment, then let out a high-pitched laugh.

"Absolutely not," said Bracken. "No dragons. Stan Sorenson's orders."

The green wyvern placed Vanessa back down on the cave floor and let out a moan, to which his brother chimed in.

"What about us?" asked a tiny, yet familiar voice, as three familiar fairies flew up in front of the group. The trio was none other than Passion, Larissa and Goldenrod.

"What _about_ you?" asked Bracken.

"Can't we come?" asked Goldenrod, clasping her hands together. "Oh, please?"

"Sorry," said Warren. "No fairies."

"Really?" asked Larissa, sounding disappointed.

Seth rolled his eyes. "You can't spell _no fairies_ without _no fair_."

"That wasn't funny!" exclaimed Passion, shaking her fist at Seth. She then flew up in front of Bracken's face. "Besides, _you_ three are fairies!"

"Yeah!" snapped Larissa, as she flew up to Bright.

"Uh huh!" added Goldenrod, fluttering before Clover.

"We're fairy _angels_," said Bright. "There's a difference."

"Oh, it's down to _that_ old excuse again," said Larissa.

"Look, it's for your own good," said Clover. "Us fairy angels are powerful enough to blend in, and we can look after ourselves if something goes wrong. Standard fairies such as yourselves pose a much higher risk. We're going to be out in public!"

"But we really want to go!" added Goldenrod. "Besides, we're so small, nobody will notice us!"

"The answer is no," said Bracken. "Now let's drop the subject."

"Well, we really only came here to bid all of you farewell," said Bright. "So, goodbye everybody! See you when we get back!"

The group all exchanged goodbyes with the dragons and fairies, then proceeded to head out of the cave, back into the rain. This time, everybody made sure to hold up their umbrella that Clover had provided them with.

"One more stop," said Bright. "We've still got to say goodbye to our other friends, who should all most likely be in the barn now that it's raining."

The group made their way through the rain as they walked across the backyard of Fablehaven and into a nearby clearing. At the far end of the clearing stood the large barn in which Viola resided. Due to the rain, the ground of the clearing had become all muddy. While it wasn't deep, the group still had no choice but to trudge through it in their shoes.

Warren opened up one of the worker doors to the barn and led the rest of the group inside. Out of the rain once again, everybody proceeded to lower their umbrellas.

Standing in the center of the room was Viola. The enormous milch cow towered over everybody else in the room, and let out a loud moo that reverberated throughout the entire barn.

"Hey, Viola!" said Seth, looking up at the giant-sized bovine. "Moo to you, too!"

Kendra looked around and saw that in a corner of the barn was a crowd made up of many other ungulates, these ones all normally-sized. All of Santa Claus' reindeer were gathered around, as well as Stargleam and Windshear.

"Hey," said Windshear. "Aren't you guys about to leave for your trip around now?"

"Sure are," said Ingrid. "We just dropped in to say goodbye! We figured all of you would be inside because of the rain."

"I've never been too fond of the rain," said Stargleam. "The mud it makes always dirties up my hooves."

"Not these reindeer, though," said Windshear, looking around at his fellow comrades. "They'll fly across the world, through the nastiest of snowstorms if it means that presents will get delivered."

"They really should be commended," said Ingrid.

"But, they're inside for now to keep us company," said Stargleam. "You humans go ahead and enjoy yourselves on this trip."

"Yeah, we'll be fine for now," said Windshear."

"Really?" asked Seth. "Thank you."

You're... welcome?" asked Windshear. "Uh, pardon my curiosity, but you sound awfully grateful."

"Nothing wrong," said Bright. "It's just that you folks are taking this whole vacation thing rather well."

"Yeah," said Kendra. "The wyverns and some of the fairies were really peeved that they aren't coming along."

"They're just jealous," said Warren. "And besides, they're all fairly young. I can understand how they feel. Growing up, I was always jealous of how Dale got to do things I couldn't, just because he was older."

"But... you still grew up, Warren," said Clover. "However, it doesn't matter how old those fairies or dragons get, they'll never grow up to be humans."

"I know. I have to admit I wasn't too thrilled when Stan said they weren't allowed to come. But... rules is rules."

"Well, you don't have to worry about us wanting to come along," said Windshear. "As long as Stargleam is staying at Fablehaven, I'm staying at Fablehaven as well."

"Oh yeah," said Kendra. "Stargleam... you're pregnant now."

"That's correct," said the red unicorn, nodding her head. "It's hard to tell now, but I can feel it already. Won't be for another year or so until the foal is born."

"We didn't decide to have a baby together until we came to Fablehaven," said Windshear. "Murdred's dungeon was too depressing for us, and we would never want to bring up a foal in a horrible place like that. But, once we settled in here, we knew what we wanted."

"I wonder," said Ingrid. "Will the baby be a unicorn, or a pegasus?"

"It's impossible to tell," said Stargleam. "Especially since both species don't develop their horn or wings until they become yearlings."

"Either way, Stargleam wants to take it easy now that she's pregnant," said Windshear. "And that means taking it easy as best as she can, even in the earliest stages of pregnancy."

"Good for you," said Kendra, speaking with confidence. "It's nice to see that you two have decided upon having a child. Which would be really special, given the small number of unicorns and pegasi that are still around."

Seth looked over at Bracken, and noticed that he was moving his eyes around the room nonchalantly, as though he seemed nervous.

"Indeed," said Stargleam. "But don't feel like we're holding you all back. Go on and enjoy your trip!"

"At least you guys are taking this rather well," said Seth. "Even the reindeer."

"No kidding," said Warren. "Besides, if we _did_ let come along, we'd probably end up on Santa's naughty list."

"He does _not_ have a naughty list," said Kendra.

Warren snorted, "Of course there's no naughty list. It's just a fib to scare bratty delinquents into behaving. Of course, only truly needy kids actually get gifts from Santa anyway."

Ingrid nodded. "At there's somebody out there who cares about them."

The group then said their goodbyes to the animals, and made their way back outside into the rain. Using their umbrellas as shelter, they scurried back towards the yard and made their way into the house via the back door.

"Man, I have had it with this stupid rain!" said Seth, as he lowered his umbrella and shook his head around, causing water droplets to splash all around where he was standing.

"Seth!" snapped Kendra. "All of us are wet! But you're tracking water onto the kitchen floor! You know how much Grandma hates that!"

"When we're in Hawaii, the only time I want to be sopping wet is when I come out of the ocean and/or swimming pool."

"I'll dry you guys off," said Bracken, as he snapped his fingers on both hands. Suddenly, Kendra and Seth were no longer damp. They had completely dried off in an instant.

"Nice trick," said Ingrid.

"Look, while we're away, I don't want to have to use magic frivolously."

"That goes for us, too," said Bright. "At least not for stuff you could easily take care of yourself."

"I got it," said Seth. "But this rain doesn't count. Normally when I go swimming, I bring a towel."

The group then made their way back into the living room, where the rest of the family was still waiting for them.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye," said Ingrid.

"Oh, have fun!" said Mrs. Sorenson, as she got up to give Kendra a hug, then moved over to Ingrid. "All of you!"

"Compared to some of the wild adventures you've been on before," said Mr. Sorenson, hugging Seth, "We're not worried in the least."

"Does everybody have what they need?" asked Warren. "Even though we're bringing the Translocator with us and can zip back here any old time we want?"

"We're good," said Seth. "Although it would still be better if we didn't have to take a plane there."

"My sentiments exactly. But the less suspicion we attract, the better." Warren then proceeded to remove the Translocator from his bag. "Well, if all of you are ready, let's get this show on the road!"


	2. Takeoff

**Chapter 2: Takeoff**

Bracken, Bright and Clover all stood together in front of the humans that were in the living room.

"We're going to go into hiding for now," said Bright.

"How come you're not coming with us on the plane?" asked Seth.

"It's just easier this way," said Grandpa. "After all, they don't possess legal identification. And using fake ID would only make things more convoluted than they even need to be."

"It's only for a couple of hours," said Bracken. "And we're just a holler away if you really need us."

"Besides, the fairies around here will be fine, "said Dale. "Raxtus and Geminus said they'd help me look after them while Bright and Clover are gone are gone."

"See you later!" said Clover, as she suddenly vanished in a cloud of green sparkles.

The adults all said their goodbyes to the fairies, as Bright and Bracken both vanished as well.

"This is it," said Warren, holding out the Translocator in his arms. "We can do this in one shot if you three each place one hand on the Translocator, and one on your luggage."

Kendra, Seth and Ingrid all complied and made sure to each the handle of their suitcase in one hand, then proceeded to place their other hand onto the Translocator. Likewise, Warren twisted the Translocator before placing a hand on his suitcase. The four of them were now all huddled around in a circle, surrounded by their suitcases.

"Goodbye!" shouted Warren, prompting Kendra, Seth and Ingrid to do the same. The adults then said goodbye back to them.

Suddenly, Kendra and Seth could feel themselves getting pulled through space by the Translocator. Within an instant, the interior of the living room shifted to that of the inside of a dark room.

"Where are we?" asked Ingrid. "I can't see anything!"

"There's some light coming from the floor," said Seth, who could see a small amount of light seeping in from what was presumably the bottom of a door.

"I can't move!" cried Ingrid, whom Kendra and Seth could feel was inadvertently pushing them around.

Able to see in the dark, Kendra examined their surroundings. They were apparently in a closet of some sort, as there were several mops, brooms and buckets hanging on the walls. However, the four humans and their belongings were a tight fit in the cramped closet.

"Everyone calm down," said Warren. "I meant to come here."

"Where's _here_?" asked Kendra.

"We're inside a storage closet at JFK airport."

"A _closet_?" asked Seth. "_Really_?"

"It was intentional," said Warren. "I figured if we had to come here again, I might as well scope the place out for a safe spot that we could travel to using the Translocator. One where bystanders wouldn't detect us."

"Next time," said Seth, "look for someplace a bit _larger_."

"Let's just get out of this cramped place," said Kendra, as she stretched her arm towards the door, grasped the knob and pushed it open, now allowing adequate light to fill the room.

The group made their way out of the closet, towing their luggage behind them. They were now standing in what appeared to be a small corridor.

"Clover, I need you to hold onto this for me," said Warren, as he held up the Translocator in his hand. A moment later, it vanished in a poof of green sparkles. "Thanks, luv!"

Warren then led the kids down the corridor. They followed him soon emerged from the corridor into a large terminal, where crowds of people were marching back and forth in front of them.

"I still don't see why we couldn't have gone the whole way using the Translocator," said Seth.

"As convoluted as this seems, it's still easier this way," said Warren. "Now, we need to get to the right check-in counter."

The kids followed Warren through the bustling terminal, where they eventually stopped and found a spot at the back of a long line.

"This line is _so_ long," moaned Seth. "It's so bureaucratic here. Wish we were at the front."

"Like it matters," said Kendra. "Everyone in it is probably getting on the same flight. And that won't take off until everyone's checked it."

"You know I've never been on a plane before," said Ingrid. "It's not scary, is it?"

"Hardly!" exclaimed Seth. "You've survived going with Geminus, haven't you?"

"Yeah, but a plane is a machine. What if something goes wrong?"

"Don't worry," said Warren. "Planes have never been trouble for us. Except for that one time..."

After what felt like an eternity, but was actually no more than twenty minutes, the group had made their way to the front of the line. They were greeted by the attendant, who proceeded to ask them some general travelling questions, including the length of their trip and their purpose for going. Interestingly enough, Kendra noticed that Warren was using everybody's real name, as opposed to a fake alias.

_Do unicorns count as animals?_ Seth asked to himself when the attendant asked if they were travelling with any animals. _Sort of,_ he thought.

After the group showed their ID to the attendant, they were presented with their boarding passes. Next, they put their luggage onto a scale, one piece at a time, and watched as they disappeared down a conveyor belt.

They then made their way through to another part of the terminal, where they passed through a metal detector.

_It's a good thing the fairies are hiding stuff for us like the Translocator, _thought Seth to himself, as the metal detector scanned his body for any potentially hazardous belongings.

Afterwards, the group found the way to the concourse. It was fairly crowded, but they managed to find a group of four seats together. Eventually, it came time for them to board their plane.

The group made their way to a row of four seats near the front of the plane. The seats appeared to be both large, plush and made out of leather.

"Aww yeah," said Seth with a smile on his face. "First class!" Seth then sat down in one of the window seats. "Sit next to me, Ingrid!"

"Uhh... Seth," said Ingrid, who seemed a bit nervous.

"Yeah? What is it?"

"Can I have the window seat? I've... never been on a plane before. And I wanted to see..."

"Of course," said Seth, now overcome with a feeling of remorse, as he stood up from the seat and moved aside to let Ingrid pass through.

"Thanks, Seth," said Ingrid, as she sat down in the window seat. Seth sat next to her in the aisle seat. Kendra and Warren sat in the two seats on the other side of the aisle.

Once the plane had filled up, a steward had instructed the passengers to fasten their seatbelts and not to get up while the the red light was on.

Soon everybody could feel as the plane began to drive down the runway and quickly ascended up into the air. Seth looked over at Ingrid and could see that she seemed somewhat terrified of the whole experience.

"It's okay," said Seth, placing his hand over hers, which was gripping onto the armrest between their seats. "We're fine."

Ingrid took in a deep breath and nodded back at Seth in response.

Eventually, the plane had risen above the clouds, and was no longer experiencing any turbulence.

"This isn't so bad," said Ingrid, staring out the window at the clouds. "No worse than being with Geminus, really. It's not like I can fall off so easily."

"It's more comfortable too," said Seth. He then leaned over and cupped his hand over Ingrid's ear. "But dragon riding is way more fun."

The flight itself lasted for many long, rather uneventful hours. The group got through it mostly by watching videos, reading, or playing video games. The biggest event had to have been the sandwiches and cookies they had been provided with for lunch, despite the fact that there was nothing exceptional about them.

After what seemed like an eternity, the plane descended downwards. Looking out the window, Seth and Kendra both had birds-eye views of the city of Honolulu. They watched as the plane soared down towards the airport, and could feel as the landing gear came into contact with the runway.

The plane continued along the runway and ultimately slowed down, until it finally came to a complete stop. Eventually, the flight crew permitted people to to get off the plane.

The group then made their way through the airport and came across a luggage carousel, where they were reunited with their bags.

They then went outside to the entrance of the airport, where they were immediately bombarded with the Hawaiian summer heat for the first time. It wasn't unbearable by any means, just something that caught them off guard.

Warren was quick to hail a taxi, which they all got inside. It proceeded to drive them to the resort they would be staying at.

As the taxi drove through the city, Kendra and Seth gazed out the windows at the many palm trees that were seemingly growing all over the place. Before long, the taxi pulled up in a driveway in front of a large hotel.

Warren paid the cabbie and they all got out of the car. As the cabbie removed their bags from the trunk, Seth and Kendra looked around at the fountains and tropical flora in front of the sprawling hotel.

"It's so nice down here!" exclaimed Seth. "This is so the perfect place to come during winter!"

"So we came here during the summer... why?" asked Ingrid.

"Hey, a vacation's a vacation," said Warren, as he proceeded to wheel his bag through the sliding front door of the hotel. "Come on."

The kids followed Warren's lead and made their way into the hotel lobby. It was a large, spacious room, filled with glossy flooring and columns made of marble. Plants and ornaments of all kinds decorated the walls.

Warren walked up to the front desk and was greeted by a clerk. He gave the woman his travel information, as well as his ID. Just like he had done at the airport, Warren was using his actual personal information. Once Warren signed an agreement, the clerk presented him with four small envelopes and told him their room numbers.

A bellhop, whose name tag read _Tim_ then came by with a trolley and proceeded to load all of the group's luggage onto it. "This way," he said, as he pushed the loaded trolley away from the front desk.

Tim brought the trolley to the elevator corridor and led the group into one of the cars. He pushed a button, prompting the elevator to bring them up to the twenty-eighth floor. Tim then pushed the cart off of the elevator and down the hallway, stopping before one of the doors.

"This is your room," said Tim, as Warren removed a keycard from an envelope. Warren then placed it in front of the lock, causing the door to click open.

The group entered the room, while Tim wheeled in the trolley behind them. The room was quite large, containing several couches, chairs, tables, bookcases, a chandelier, a massive widescreen television, a grand piano, and even a pool table. There was also a door leading out to a balcony.

"This room is sweet!" exclaimed Seth. "I just thought we were getting our own separate rooms!"

"No sir," said Tim, who was in the middle of unloading the suitcases from the trolley. "This is our renowned presidential suite. Since the construction of this hotel, every president who has served in office has stayed in this same suite. It contains four separate bedrooms, each with its own ensuite."

"More like, this suite is sweet," said Ingrid.

"Is there anything else I can do for you while I'm here?" asked Tim.

"No thank you," said Warren. "We're good."

Warren pulled out his wallet and removed a bill, which he handed over to Tim.

"Thank you, sir," said Tim, as he pocketed the bill. "Enjoy your stay!"

Everybody watched as Tim walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.

"Finally!" gasped Seth, as he allowed himself to fall back onto a plush couch. "We're alone!"

"Come out, you three" said Kendra,. Suddenly, Bracken, Bright and Clover all appeared before the group.

"Sheesh!" exclaimed Bracken, "I know I was a prisoner in Living Mirage for centuries, but I thought this trip was never going to end!"

"Sounds like we missed all the fun," said Clover, looking around the room. "What is this place?"

"It's our hotel room," said Warren, placing a hand over his wife's shoulder.

Kendra, Seth and Ingrid all walked over to the window. It was overlooking the Pacific ocean, though directly below them, they could see the beach, along with the back end of the hotel. It offered quite an impressive view, to say the least.

"A room like this must cost a fortune," said Kendra, how'd we end up with it?"

"This vacation is a gift from our fellow Knights of the Dawn," said Warren. "It's their way of thanking us for all the hullabaloo we've been going through lately."

"This place is nicer than home," said Seth. "Not that our own home is anything to scoff at."

"Where are the beds?" asked Ingrid.

"They should be in adjoining rooms," said Warren. The group then followed Warren down a corridor on one side of the room. In the corridors were two doors, both along the same wall. Warren opened up the closer door. Inside was a bedroom with a king-sized bed, several chairs, a minibar, a widescreen television that wasn't _quite_ as large as the one in the main room, plus several other amenities.

"Now this..." said Seth, "...this is the kind of room I was expecting."

"I'd like to claim this room for myself and Clover," said Warren. "We could use the king bed."

"Okay," said Kendra. "That means we'll need to split the other three rooms among the rest of us."

"Can I share a room with you, Kendra?" asked Ingrid.

"I don't mind. That just leaves Seth, Bracken and Bright.

"I can share with Bright," said Bracken. "Seth, I guess that means you get a room all to yourself."

"Really?" asked Seth. "Awesome."

Kendra, Seth, Ingrid, Bright and Bracken all walked out of the bedroom that Warren had claimed for himself and Clover. Bracken and Bright made their way into the bedroom at the far end of the corridor, prompting the three kids to walk across the main room of the suite and over to the corridor on the other side. Kendra and Ingrid walked into the first bedroom, while Seth entered the second. Much the like first room, these two rooms were furnished very similarly, except for the fact that they each contained two queen-sized beds as opposed to one king.

Before long, everybody had settled down in their bedrooms and unpacked their belongings. Seth looked into the ensuite that was connected to his bedroom, and saw that it contained a toilet, two sinks, a shower and a jacuzzi.

Seth walked out of his room and noticed a door along the other wall of the corridor. Curious, he opened it up and discovered a room with a hot tub built into the center of it.

"Holy!" exclaimed Seth. "This place has everything!"

Seth walked out of the room and into the room where Kendra and Ingrid were staying.

"This place has a hot tub!" stated Seth, looking at his sisters. "Check it out!"

Seth then walked through the main part of the suite and over to the other corridor. It too had a door on the wall opposite the bedrooms which piqued his interest. Could there be a second hot tub in the suite? It seemed unlikely, but Seth suspected that it had to be something good.

Seth walked over to the mysterious door and opened it up. He flicked on the light switch and saw that there was a dining table in the centre of the room, which had been set up with plates, napkins and cutlery.

"Cool. But there's no kitchen."

"No need for a kitchen," said Warren, who had walked up behind Seth. "In a place like this, you can just order an entire dinner and room service will send it up for you."

"This is so awesome. This place has everything! It's like we never even have to set foot out of this room."

"That's not entirely true," said Kendra. "There's no outdoors in this place. You can't go swimming. And don't tell me that you plan on going swimming in that hot tub."

"That's what the pool is for," said Warren.

"What pool?" asked Ingrid.

"The one on the balcony. It's not very big, but at least its private."

"I don't care," said Seth."

"This place is incredible," said Ingrid. "But, I didn't come all the way to Hawaii just to lounge around in a hotel room, as nice as it is. I want to visit the beach. Take in the sights. Enjoy myself."

"That _is_ why we're here," said Clover.

"Yeah, I don't intend to do a whole lot in this room besides sleeping," said Bracken.

"Look, it's been a long day," said Warren.

"It wouldn't have been so long if we had just used the Translocator to come here," muttered Seth. "We've waste like an entire day just travelling here from home. Couldn't we just have checked in using fake names like we have in the past?"

"We've been over this before," said Bright.

"In fact, who needs a hotel room?" asked Seth. "We could just travel back to Fablehaven every night. And no one would be the wiser."

"I can see that Seth's a little overtired," said Warren. "Possibly jet-lagged. Cuz I sure am. Why don't we all freshen up, and then we'll look into getting some dinner."

"Sounds good," said Ingrid. "I haven't eaten since the plane."

"I guess I could eat something," said Seth. "Well, I guess this means that our vacation officially starts... now!"


	3. Little Fairy, Big Trouble

**Chapter 3: Little Fairy, Big Trouble**

After settling down in their rooms and freshening up in their ensuites, the group was soon ready to eat dinner, which they would be leaving the hotel to have.

"I don't get it," said Seth. "We've got our own private dining room, and the hotel can provide us with a meal. So why are we even going out?"

"I thought it would be nice to do _something_ on our first day here," said Warren.

"Yeah, Seth," said Kendra. "What were you hoping to do in the room? Sit around and watch TV? You do that all the time at home."

"And on the plane ride over here," added Ingrid.

Seth winced. "Fine. Let's just get this over with already."

The group made their way out of the suite and rode the elevator all the way down to the lobby. From there they made their way out through the front of the hotel, and were soon on the streets of Honolulu. Although it was dinner hour, the sun in the sky was nowhere near setting.

Soon they came across an exquisite seafood restaurant. According to the waitress, almost everything on the menu had been caught locally, implying that the food would be exceptionally fresh. Indeed it was, as everybody ordered well and ate to their heart's content.

When the bill came around, Seth unintentionally caught a glimpse of the total, which looked to be a few hundred dollars easily, although he tried to avoid looking at it, as he had been taught that it was rude to look at a bill that he was not paying for. As Warren paid for the meal using a credit card, there was no cash for Seth to count. Also, Seth did not look to see what Warren had written down as a tip.

Several hours later, their stomachs now bloated with seafood, fries, dessert and ice cream, the group managed to walk off some of the calories by strolling through the city streets all the way back to the hotel.

Exhausted from the long day, everybody plopped onto a seat once they made it back to their hotel suite. Once they had settled down, everybody was too tired to do anything else. Additionally, the sun in the sky was finally starting to set.

"Oh boy," said Bracken wearily. "I'm so tired now."

"I'm not surprised," said Warren. "We've had a very long day. And we're jet-lagged from the flight."

"Back home it's probably the middle of the night." said Ingrid.

"Why don't we just go to sleep now?" said Bright. "It's not late or anything, but I think that we could all do with a good night's sleep.

Everybody then went into their appropriate bedroom and changed in their sleepwear. Alone in his bedroom, Seth was tempted to watch something on his own television. However, he was feeling rather exhausted himself, so he opted to just turn off his light, crawl underneath his covers, and let himself fall asleep.

The following morning, everybody woke up after getting a good night's sleep. For breakfast, they decided to have their meal catered in the suite's private dining room. Even though it was only breakfast, the meal seemed more like a banquet, consisting of different styles of eggs, bacon, sausages, bagels, fruit, crepes, waffles, pancakes, toast, cereal and more.

Once everyone had had their fill of food, they grabbed their gear and proceeded to make their way outside of the hotel and onto the beach that was located at the rear. Even though it was still fairly early in the day, the sun was beaming down from the sky brilliantly and the weather was great.

There was a small building on the beach which housed male and female change rooms. The group used the building to change into their swimwear and apply sunscreen, then made their way down towards the shore, where numerous beach chairs and umbrellas that belonged to the hotel had been set up. Now that they were in swimsuits, the fairies had taken the liberty of hiding their wings and masking their abstract hair colors so that they would look like normal people.

Seth walked right up to the coast of the beach, where the tide was swaying back and forth along the shore. As Seth set his feet down into the wet sand, the tide came back up and soaked his toes, then retreated into the ocean. To Seth's surprise, the water felt much colder than he was expecting it to be.

Seth shuddered. "This water is _really_ cold!"

"Relax, Seth," said Kendra. "If you really want to go swimming, we can just use the pool back at the hotel.

"It sure would be fun to ride around here on Mariana," said Seth.

"Forget about that," said Clover. "No creatures allowed."

"Want to help me build a sandcastle, Seth?" asked Ingrid. "This is my first visit to a beach, you know."

"Uh, sure," said Seth.

Using some plastic shovels and pails that they found nearby, Seth and Ingrid proceeded to start constructing a several piles of sand together into a structure. The pails came in several different sizes, and not all were round; many were shaped like rectangular prisms.

Kendra, Bracken and Bright all opted to lie down on towels, in hopes of getting a nice tan. Warren had started to dig a small pit in the sand. He claimed that he was going to lie down in the pit and have Clover bury all of his body, excluding his head in the sand.

Before too long, Seth and Ingrid's castle was starting to come along. They had created a grid using sandpiles from the largest-sized bucket they had, and were in the midst of constructing the second tier using a smaller sized pail.

At this point, a young girl walked up to where Seth and Ingrid were working.

"Hey," said the girl. "your castle looks cool! Can I help?"

Seth winced. "It's very nice of you to offer, but we kind of have things under control."

"I can help you build another castle," said Ingrid. "Is that okay?"

"No, I'd rather just help you two with this one," said the girl.

"You sure?"

"I don't mind. If it's all right with you two, I'd like to dig up a moat for your castle."

"A moat?" asked Seth, thinking back to the lava-filled moat that surrounded Murdred's castle, before realizing that this was another matter entirely. "Uh, sure. Go right ahead!"

"Thank you," said the girl, as she proceeded to use a small plastic shovel to start digging up the sand next to the castle.

After several more minutes had passed, the castle had not only grown larger, but the moat that the young girl had promised to dig up was now partway complete, as a tiny chasm was surrounding the castle on two side.

A few more kids started to approach the castle, asking what they could do to contribute. One of them agreed to construct a library near the castle, while another offered to build a school. Before long, a small town was forming around the castle, connected by roadways that one of the kids had paved through the sand.

After a while, Seth and Ingrid had put the finishing touches on their sandcastle. Now, while Seth had seen far more detailed and elaborate sandcastles in photographs, the fact that the castle that he and Ingrid had constructed was a lot more blocky didn't' matter to him; he still had a great time building it.

Additionally, no less than ten other kids, all of whom had been complete strangers, had created a town that surrounded the castle, which not only included a library and a school, but several houses, a supermarket, a fire station, a museum and a movie theater. The kid who created the roads had even brought along a few Hot Wheels cars to occupy the roads. However, the toy cars did not move very well in the sand, as several grains of it got stuck on the wheels of one of them.

"You two seem to be having fun," said Kendra, who had gotten up and walked over to where Seth and Ingrid were kneeling in front of the castle.

"Look at what all us made when we worked together," said Ingrid.

"We saw. You know, if I had created a sand town like this, Seth would've stomped all over it, claiming to be a monster."

"I would _not_!" exclaimed Seth, who was wincing.

"Sure... Just like the time when you pretended to be Godzilla as an excuse to attack my dollhouse."

Seth rolled his eyes. "I'm a boy. It's my job."

Ingrid started to snicker and proceeded to hide her grin behind her hand.

Now that the town had been complete, many of the kids started to play around around with it. Seth felt that he was a little too big to be playing pretend with a bunch of younger children, as did Ingrid, who was several months older than himself. However, they both oversaw the other kids who were playing around.

"Come on, kids," said Bracken, after a fair amount of time had passed. "We're gonna go get some lunch now."

"But what about the castle?" asked Ingrid. "These kids are having so much fun."

"They can continue on their own," said Clover. "They seem to be enjoying themselves more than you two are anyway."

"I guess she has a point," said Seth. "I honestly had more fun building the castle than I did playing with it."

Clover then turned around and walked over to where Warren's entire body had been buried in the sand, sans his face, his eyes shielded by a pair of sunglasses. She knelt down and nudged Warren's chin with her hand. "Time to go, sleepyhead."

"I was _not_ asleep!" snapped Warren, shaking his head away from Clover's hand. He proceeded to stand up, breaking through the layer of sand which he had been buried underneath. As he rose upwards, sand flowed down from his body, although much of it still clung to him.

"Time to say goodbye to your new friends," said Bracken, placing his hands upon Seth and Ingrid's shoulders.

"Bye, kids!" said Seth, as he waved at the kids who had helped created the sand town. "We've gotta go now!"

The kids all said their goodbyes, then diverted their attention back to the town.

"So, what do you guys feel like having for lunch?" asked Warren, as he brushed some excess sand from off of his arm. "Pizza? Hamburgers?"

"I'll settle for anything," said Seth, as Warren inadvertently brushed some sand onto his body, "as long as you don't get any sand in it."

"Relax, I'll take a quick shower before lunch."

The group then grabbed all of their equipment and proceeded to make their way over to the change rooms. Of the males in the group, Seth was the first one to change back into his regular clothes. He then ventured outside to wait for the others, and discovered that he was the first one of the entire group to have finished.

"Excuse me," said a voice belonging to a young boy. Seth looked down and saw a kid, probably no more than six years old, looking up at him. He was not wearing a swimsuit, but casual clothes.

"Oh, hi," said Seth, not knowing how to respond. "Can I... help you?"

"Do you know about the butterfly?"

"Butterfly?" asked Seth, not knowing what to think. "No, I can't say that I do."

"Are you sure?" asked the boy, giving Seth a stern look.

"Look, kid. I haven't seen a butterfly all day. I was just down at that sandcastle over there." Seth then pointed over to the sandcastle where several other kids were still playing. "Why don't you go down there and join them?"

"I was going to. Eventually. But before I could, this incredible butterfly flew up to me. But this butterfly wasn't like other butterflies."

At this point, other members of Seth's group were making their way out of the change rooms, and saw that Seth was conversing with the small boy.

"What's this all about?" asked Kendra, trying to decipher what Seth had been talking to the boy about."

"The butterfly," said the boy. "Didn't you see her? She was a really friendly and really blue. In fact, _you_ kind of remind me of her."

The boy walked over to Clover and pointed at her.

"_I _remind you of a _butterfly_?" asked Clover. "Look, I don't know..."

"Know what?" asked Ingrid.

"We have to leave," said Clover. "Now!"

"But the butterfly!" gasped the boy, as Clover marched off towards the hotel, prompting the others to follow her.

"Why are we leaving?" asked Ingrid."

"Because," said Bright, "whatever's going on, we at least need to get back to the room so we can get away from all these people."

Soon the group had made their way back into the hotel and entered the lobby. They made a beeline for the the elevator, which they rode back up to their floor. They then marched down the hallway and entered the room, prompting Warren to slam the door.

"All right!" shrieked Bracken. "What in the world was that all about? Who's this fairy that boy was ranting on about?"

Kendra didn't know what to think about Bracken's behaviour. He had always been so calm and polite. It was highly unusual to see him acting this way. "Bracken, please calm down."

"I'm sorry, Kendra," said Bracken, "but something is _very_ unnerving about all this."

"I'm detecting stray pulses of light energy nearby," said Bright. "They're not very strong, so they likely belong to minor fairies."

"Where are they, then?" asked Seth.

"Right... here!" exclaimed Bright, as she snapped her fingers. Suddenly, Passion and Goldenrod both appeared in front of Bright in midair, embarrassed looks etched on their faces.

"Aha!" exclaimed Bracken, sneering at the two fairies.

"I think the jig is up," said Goldenrod.

"What is this all about?" snapped Clover, glaring at the two fairies.

"Where's Larissa?" asked Bright.

"Larissa?" asked Passion. "You... _didn't_ see her?"

"_We _didn't," said Warren. "But somebody _else_ certainly did."

"Wait a minute," said Goldenrod, "somebody else _actually_ saw her? Not as a fairy, though. Hopefully."

"That's not even the half of it!" shouted Bracken. "She just exposed herself to a complete stranger! And a highly suspicious one at that. You don't get it, do you?"

"We just wanted to have some fun," said Passion. "We so desperately wanted to come along."

"I can't believe you're even here!" said Bright.

"What are you three even doing here?" asked Warren, his arms crossed.

"We wanted to go to Hawaii with you!" replied Passion. "We asked and we asked but your answer was _always_ **no**."

"So you went through the Translocator when we did without our consent and follow us all the way to Hawaii?" asked Bracken.

Passion nodded. "We were hoping you wouldn't notice us. That way you wouldn't get mad."

"Now that's what I call _Seth logic_," said Kendra.

"Listen," said Bright. "We're not so much mad at you because you came along. We're more mad at Larissa because that boy spotted before. Before any of us did to boot!"

"Don't be so mad," said Goldenrod. "It's not like some random boy would know Larissa was a fairy. At least I don't think he would."

"Hold on a moment," said Ingrid. "Why was Larissa spotted, but not you two?"

"Goldenrod and I have been in the hotel room all day," said Passion. "Only one of us have been out at a time. To reduce any risk of getting spotted, of course. We didn't think Larissa would be spotted so soon."

"So, where is Larissa right now?" asked Seth.

"Maybe she's still down at the beach," said Bright. "I haven't been able to detect any other fairies in the vicinity."

"Look, we're sorry," said Goldenrod. "Just go find Larissa and we can move on."

"You have any idea how dangerous this whole ordeal could've been?" asked Bracken. "A kid just spotted Larissa! Some kids out there have the most atrocious behavior! Depending on what this kid is like, he could squash her with his fist! Or rip off her wings!"

"Or trap her in a jar," said Kendra, looking at Seth.

"You fairies are in a lot of trouble," said Bright. "We ought to send you two back to Fablehaven this instant. We'll deal with Larissa afterwards. Warren, where's the Translocator?"

Warren held up his hands. "Hold on a sec. "What about that boy? He didn't do anything wrong. I think we at least owe him an explanation."

"Who cares about some stupid kid?" asked Seth. "Let's just send the fairies back to Fablehaven and pretend this whole thing never happened."

"What are we supposed to do about this boy who saw Larissa?" asked Ingrid. "That his butterfly friend just flew off and that she's never coming back?"

"What I want to know," said Kendra, "Is why on Earth he was drawn to Larissa in the first place."

"Beats us," said Passion. "We must've passed about two-thousand people on this trip. "If somebody actually reacted to Larissa's presence, there must be _something_ exceptional about him."

"If this is true, there must be something about this boy that we don't know about," said Bright. "If we could just go back and find him, perhaps we might be able to find out just what it is that caused him to be drawn to Larissa. Provided we keep to ourselves, fairies are pretty innocuous to most people."

"How are we supposed to find Larissa or the Occulus, anyway?" asked Ingrid.

"With this," said Warren, pulling the Occulus out of his bag. "I brought it just in case something came up. You remember what that boy looks like, don't you Seth?

"I got it," said Seth, reaching out for the Occulus as Warren presented it to him. "I better just do this before I forget what his face even looks like."

Gripping onto the Occulus in his hands, Seth closed his eyes and used it to focus on the. It had only been a few minutes since he had been with him, so the boy was still fresh in his mind.

The boy suddenly came into view. He was holding hands with a grown man, who was presumably his father. The two of them appeared to be talking to each other, although Seth was unable to hear their conversation.

Seth shifted his focus to the area surrounding the boy and the other man. There were apparently walking through the lobby of the very hotel that the group was staying in.

"I found the boy," said Seth. "He's with who I think _might_ be his father."

"Well, where is he?" asked Clover.

"They're downstairs in this very hotel."

"Great," said Kendra. "We'll head straight down and see what we can learn."

"What about Larissa?" asked Bright.

Seth then shifted his focus away from the boy, allowing his view on him to fade away. A moment later, his view returned. He could now see Larissa. She too was apparently in the same hallway, flying in the air, right below the ceiling.

"Larissa's down there, too," said Seth. "She seems to still be following the boy."

"Then we'd better get down there and find the both of them," said Warren.


	4. Father and Son

**Chapter 4: Father and Son**

"What's the plan?" asked Seth, looking over at Warren, who was sitting on the couch across from him.

"Can't say I really have any real semblance of a plan," replied Warren. "This whole situation just took us all by surprise."

"Are you going to send Passion and Goldenrod back to Fablehaven?" asked Ingrid, as she eyed the two fairies who were standing before everybody on the table.

"It's better we don't," said Bracken. "At least, not yet. "If this boy really_ is_ drawn to fairies, I'd be interested in finding out just why that's the case."

"You two are coming with us," said Bright, looking down at Passion and Goldenrod. "That's an order."

"Yes, Bright," said Passion.

"As you wish," added Goldenrod, nodding in response.

"Then let's get going," said Warren, as he slipped the Occulus back into his bag. "Come on."

The group made their way back out of the room and walked down the hallway, where they waited for an elevator. Once one arrived, they all got on and began to ride it downwards.

"You fairies still with us?" asked Kendra, speaking under her breath.

"We're here," said Goldenrod. "We're hiding in Bright and Clover's pockets."

"Where did Larissa and that boy go?" asked Ingrid, as the elevator stopped at the ninth floor.

"Forget it," muttered Bracken, as the doors slid open and an older man stepped onto the elevator. He greeted the group by nodding at them.

Once the elevator reached the lobby, everybody stepped out and looked around.

"This way," said Warren, directing the group over to an enclosed area where several couches and armchairs had been arranged. The group all sat down and Warren presented Seth with the Occulus.

"Okay, I'll try this again," said Seth, as he used the Occulus to once again focus on the boy and Larissa.

1

The boy quickly came into view. He was sitting at a table in a restaurant, across from the other man. He then shifted his focus onto Larissa. His view then dropped downwards, where he could see Larissa hiding underneath the very table that the two strangers were sitting at. She was gripping onto a table leg with both hands, her eyes fixated up at the boy.

"They're in a restaurant," exclaimed Seth.

"Which restaurant?" asked Kendra.

"Hold on, I'll check," said Seth, as he zoomed his view away from Larissa, backing up from underneath the table. The restaurant appeared to be rather high end, and was furnished with classy decor, plush seats and even chandeliers. In one corner, there was a pianist playing an inaudible melody on a grand piano.

Needing more information, Seth backed away to the entrance of the restaurant. He then saw that it was actually within a larger building, and was looking in from a familiar looking hallway.

"That's it!" said Seth, as he opened his eyes and regained his normal vision. "They're eating at a restaurant in this very hotel!"

"It figures," said Warren.

"I know we passed it before," said Seth, as he gave the Occulus back to Warren. "I believe it's this way!"

Seth then got up and proceeded to dash down the hallway.

"Seth, wait up!" exclaimed Kendra, as her brother continued to jaunt across the main lobby. He then entered another hallway, where he stopped before the entrance to the very restaurant he had just seen through the Occulus.

"This is it," said Seth, once the others had all caught up with him.

"You sure they're in here?" asked Clover, staring into the restaurant at the patrons.

"This has to be it. I know it."

"We need a plan," said Bracken. "How are we going to get Larissa without arousing suspicion?"

"She was hiding under the table that the boy was sitting at," replied Seth.

"Okay then," said Bright. "Passion and Goldenrod, I want you two to go find Larissa and get her to come back to us. But wait until we're closer to the table."

"Let's do this, then," said Warren, as he walked up to the head waitress' counter.

"Good afternoon," said the head waitress, who was dressed in a formal suit. "Are you here for lunch?"

"Yeah..." said Warren, who was partly sidetracked by the various people who were already sitting at tables.

"For how many?"

"Seven."

"Right this way, please," said the waitress, as she picked up a small stack of menus and led the group into the restaurant. The group followed her past several rows of occupied tables, before stopping at a long, unoccupied one, where she seated them. After asking the group if any of them wanted a drink, she proceeded to walk back towards the entrance of the restaurant.

"I see them," said Seth, as he peered over towards the far wall of the restaurant. Surely enough, sitting together at a small booth were the boy and the older man.

"That table over there?" asked Warren, who was looking in the same direction.

"Yup."

"Okay, girls," said Bright, looking down at her waist. "I want you to fly underneath that table over there. That's where Seth spotted Larissa. Find her and bring her back, now. But keep close to the floor, so you can reduce your chance of being spotted."

"Got it," said Goldenrod, as she and Passion both flew off across the carpeted flooring of the restaurant, heading towards the other table.

"Bright, why don't you just summon Larissa to yourself with your power?" asked Ingrid.

"I'm not close enough from this spot," replied Bright. "I could just get closer, but it's best if I don't loiter around in this place."

"As long as we're here and we're waiting, let's get some grub," said Warren, as he picked up his menu.

Just then, Passion and Goldenrod zipped back up from the floor and flew onto the center of the table.

"Where's Larissa?" asked Clover, speaking with a stern tone in her voice.

"She... wasn't there," replied Passion.

"What?" muttered Bracken. "Look, you're in enough trouble as it is! You're only making things worse!"

"This_ isn't_ a joke!" snapped Goldenrod.

"You know what, I'll check this out myself," said Clover.

"Seriously!" said Passion. "Larissa is _not_ under that table!"

"She was five minutes ago," stated Seth.

"So where is she now?" asked Kendra.

"She can't have gone far," said Bright. "I'll just casually walk past that table and see if I can summon Larissa as I do so."

Bright then got up from her seat and proceeded to walk over towards the booth where the boy was seated. Trying to avoid eye contact, Bright slowly sauntered past the booth, no doubt using her innate power to summon Larissa to herself.

After passing the booth, Bright continued past several more tables, then turned around and backtracked past the booth a second time. She then walked back to the group's table and slunk back into her chair, a look of disappointment etched onto her face.

"You couldn't sense her?" asked Ingrid.

"It's like she knew we were coming, so she's deliberately avoiding us," replied Bright. "All I can say for sure is that she's not under that table, or anywhere close by."

"Enough is enough," said Seth. "Warren, let me use the Occulus again."

"Here you go," said Warren, handing the Occulus over to Seth.

Seth accepted the Occulus, then used it to focus on Larissa once again. Once the fairy came into focus, Seth discovered that she was now in a flower bed. Backing away from Larissa, Seth discovered that the flower bed was in a flower bed just outside the hotel, still within the proximity of the restaurant.

"Now she's in a garden outside," said Seth, as he "Maybe we should go get her while we can."

"Hold on a second," said Warren. "A fairy like her won't go too far in an unfamiliar world. And as long as we have the Occulus, we won't lose sight of her."

"So, what are we waiting for?" asked Kendra.

"That boy. He knows something. And I want to find out just what it is."

Warren got up from his seat. "Kendra, I want you to come with me. We're going to ask that boy a few questions. The rest of you, wait here. It's best we don't overwhelm them more than we already have to."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" asked Kendra. "Seems kind of intrusive."

"I know. As improper as this seems, it needs to be done. And Clover, if the waitress comes while we're gone, order me an avocado and chicken sandwich."

Warren gestured for Kendra to get up from her seat, which she did. The two of them then walked across the room and stopped in front of the table where the boy and the other man were sitting.

"Excuse us," said Warren, looking over at the two occupants of the table. "But do you mind if we have a talk?"

"I'm sorry," replied the man, "but who exactly are you?"

"Look, is mainly to do with the boy," said Kendra, her eyes fixated on the child.

"My son? Luke? What about him?"

"Dad," said Luke, "what's going on?"

"I'm not sure. What's this all about? Do you have an important matter to discuss, or are you just trying to waste our time?"

"Take it easy," said Warren, holding up his hands. "We just want to ask a few questions. "Luke, we saw you down at the beach just before lunch. Is that true?"

"Well, yeah..." replied Luke.

"And you were going on about a butterfly, yes?"

"You know about this butterfly?" asked the man, whose eyes had suddenly lit up.

"Uh... no," replied Warren. "We were just at the beach ourselves, and couldn't help but overhear your son going on about some butterfly. I mean, it's pretty unusual to find a butterfly in a place like this."

"It _is _pretty unusual. Do you know anything more about it?"

"Not exactly. However, your son was pretty enthusiastic about it. Luke, what was this butterfly like?"

"Well, she was blue," replied Luke. "And she spent a lot of time playing with me."

"What do you mean by playing?" asked Kendra.

"Oh she was just flying around by my side for a while. It was strange. I've never seen a butterfly act that way before."

"I even tried to capture it," noted the man. "But it kept evading me. There was something highly unusual about this butterfly."

"It's only a butterfly," said Kendra. "Besides, you really shouldn't be capturing wild animals and uprooting them from the wild. It's cruel Even if it is only a butterfly."

"This isn't what you think! You should have seen this butterfly! It was something else. If only I could've captured it. Then I'd have been able to prove everything!"

"Look, just don't worry so much about this whole thing," said Warren. "It was probably just a stray butterfly that was confused about its surroundings. No need to make a mountain out of a molehill."

"You sure seem calm for somebody who just a moment ago was so intrigued by my son's encounter with some random butterfly."

Warren winced. "Well, sorry. But your son was kind of making a big scene. The whole thing piqued our interest."

"Look, I was just interested in finding out anything I could about this butterfly that seemingly took a liking to my son. Is there any information at all whatsoever that you might be be able to share with me?"

Warren and Kendra stopped and turned their heads to face one another, then shook them in response.

"Sorry," replied Kendra. "But we don't know anything more about this butterfly that you already would."

"Well then," said the man. "I don't know what else to say. If you have nothing else to share with us, then I'm afraid that I can't help you. Now, if you don't mind, my son and I would like to enjoy our lunch in peace."

"Okay," said Warren, as he let out a reluctant sigh. "Sorry to have bothered you." He then turned to face Kendra. "Come on, let's go."

Kendra and Warren proceeded to walk back through the room and sat down at their table, where the rest of the group was waiting for them.

"So..." said Seth, "how'd it go?"

"Those two are up to something," said Kendra. "Especially the father."

"You mind starting from the beginning?" asked Clover.

Kendra and Warren went on to tell the others about the little discussion that they had just had with Luke and his father.

"Well, that sure sounds like a red flag," said Seth. "How're we supposed to find out more about what those two are actually like?"

"I don't know," said Ingrid. "It's not like we can just walk up to them and start talking about... them."

Ingrid proceeded to point at Passion and Goldenrod, both of whom were standing on center of the table.

"Speaking of these two," said Kendra, "what exactly are we supposed to do with them?"

"Well, there's not much else for them to do here," said Warren, "so, let's see to sending them back home after lunch. But we need to go out and round up Larissa as well. Fortunately, it's unlikely that she'll go very far, and we can just track her using the Occulus."

"Is it really such a good idea to wait like this instead of going after Larissa right now?" asked Bright. "I mean, she's unsupervised as well as in a strange land."

"Look, fairies like us aren't stupid," noted Clover. "I mean, how much trouble can one little fairy like her even get into?"

Everybody else at the table glanced across the room to where Luke and his father were currently sitting.

"Either way, I don't want to get up again to start chasing after a fairy," said Warren. "I think we've already caused enough commotion as it is. Let's all just take a deep breath and enjoy our lunch. Then we can go after Larissa."

Before long, lunch had been served. Everybody at the table had been treated to a delicious lunch. Except of course, for Passion and Goldenrod, who weren't even supposed to be there. Nevertheless, Seth, Ingrid and even Kendra couldn't help but share bits of their food with the two fairies, be it a tiny french fry or a sliver of a chicken tender.

"Must you feed the fairies?" asked Bright, rolling her eyes. "They're not even supposed to be here!"

"You'd think the kids were feeding dogs under the table," noted Bracken. "Mind you, little fairies like them aren't going to eat very much."

Once everybody had finished, Warren paid the for the bill and the group proceeded to leave the restaurant. On their way out, they passed by the table that Luke and his father had been sitting at. As they had left beforehand, a busboy was currently wiping it clean.

"Now what?" asked Ingrid, as the group walked out of the restaurant and back into the hotel hallway.

"Let's go find Larissa already," said Seth. "I think I know where she was. Follow me"

Seth led the group outside of the hotel, and directed them around a corner, over to the flower bed he had previously seen Larissa frolicking in through the Occulus. Situated against the wall of the hotel, the flower bed made up only a small section of the greater garden that was easily large enough to be a small park.

"So?" asked Bracken, as Seth pored through the stems, petals and leave within the flower bed. "Where is she?"

"She was here when I looked through the Occulus!" exclaimed Seth. "It was this very spot! Honest!"

Bright sighed. "That was at least half an hour ago!"

"Well, she might still be somewhere in this garden!" stated Seth, as he stood up and stared around at the various flowerbeds, trees and that made up the rest of the garden.

"Forget this," said Clover. "Let's just use the Occulus again right now to find out where she even is."

"Fine," said Seth, as he walked over to a nearby bench and sat down.

Warren presented the Occulus to Seth. Gripping the artifact in his hand, Seth used it to concentrate on Larissa. Surely enough, the blue fairy came into view.

Larissa appeared to be sitting on top of a car. A taxi, to be precise, since she was leaning against the sign on the roof of the car which had _TAXI_ spelled out in big, bold letters. On top of that, the taxi was in the midst of driving down a busy Honolulu street.

"You won't believe this," said Seth, "but Larissa is on a taxi."

"A taxi?" asked Warren. "How'd she even hail a cab?"

"No..." moaned Seth. "I mean she's riding on the _roof_ of a taxi!"

"Larissa's riding on top of a car?" asked Bright. "That is _not_ safe!"

"No kidding," said Warren. "She doesn't even have a seat belt."

"Where's she heading?" asked Bracken.

"Beats me," replied Seth as he continued to watch Larissa ride through the city by means of the Occulus. "I don't know the geography of this city at all."

"Seth," said Ingrid. "I'm wondering. Who's even riding inside the taxi?"

Seth then lowered his focus into the backseat of the taxi. Surely enough, Luke and his father were the ones sitting there.

"I should've guessed," said Seth. "It's Luke and his dad."

"Great," said Clover. "How are we supposed to catch up with them in a busy city like this?"

"Relax," said Warren. "Let's just wait this whole thing out and see where they get off. Once they're on foot, then we can go after them and Larissa."


	5. Allure

**Chapter 5: Allure**

Still following the taxi cab that Luke and his father were riding in by means of the Occulus, Seth watched as it continued to make its way through the city.

"I really wish I knew where this car was going," moaned Seth, determined to keep his focus solely on the taxi.

"Just hang in there," said Warren. "It's easier for us to stay where we are than it would be to try and chase after them through the streets. They got too much of a head start for us to catch up with them."

"I don't believe this," said Seth, as he looked back up at Larissa, who was still riding atop the roof of the taxi. "Larissa is _still _riding along with them. Has she lost her mind or something?"

"She must really be drawn to Luke," said Bright. "Even_ I_ can't imagine what it could be that has Larissa so entranced."

"Doesn't she have _any_ concern about getting lost?" asked Ingrid. "How does she even intend on getting back to us once she's done with Luke?"

"This is precisely why the other fairies and creatures were prohibited from joining us on this trip," said Bracken, looking down at Passion and Goldenrod, who were both perched upon his arm. "Larissa has no idea just how massive the mortal world is compared to our tiny Fairy Realm. She must think that she isn't traversing that much distance by following Luke around."

"Now the taxi is on the highway, "said Seth, watching through the Occulus as the taxi continued driving along the freeway.

"The highway?" asked Warren. "Where exactly are they heading?"

"I dunno," said Seth.

"I've got an idea," said Kendra. "It's early in the afternoon. So maybe you can figure out what direction they're heading in by looking up at where the sun is in the sky."

"I'll give it a try," said Seth. He proceeded to shift his view away from the car, then looked upwards towards the sky.

Seth gazed around at the sky, trying to locate the sun. He only needed a quick glimpse. After all, he had heard that it was hazardous for one's eyes to stare into the sun for too long. After looking around for a moment, he spotted the sun.

"What time is it?" asked Seth.

"One eleven," replied Kendra, as she looked up at the sky. "So the sun is slightly to the west of where we are now."

"Okay. They seem to be heading west anyway."

"What's west of here anyway?" asked Ingrid.

"Pearl Harbor for one," replied Warren. "More Hawaiian districts. And the airport."

"Did you just say _airport_?" asked Seth. "Cuz I see the airport up ahead, and the taxi seems to be heading towards it."

"They're going to the airport?" asked Clover. "But, why?"

"Maybe they want to, oh I don't know, catch a plane?" asked Ingrid.

"Yeah, they're definitely going to the airport," said Seth, as the taxi pulled up next to the curb by one of the terminals."

"Well, we can't just wait here!" exclaimed Bright. "Come on, we have to go after them before they get away!"

"Relax, Bright," said Warren. "It takes hours just to check in at an airport and board a plane."

"Do I really have to keep following them?" asked Seth, watching as the cabbie removed two suitcases from the trunk of the taxi."

"Not right now," replied Warren, prompting Seth to stop using the Occulus and return to his proper point of view.

"This shouldn't be so bad," said Ingrid. "We can just travel to the airport using the Translocator and intercept them before they can get away."

"Problem," said Warren. "Where exactly in the airport are we supposed to travel to using the Translocator?"

"How about the bathroom?" asked Seth. "It's worked for us in the past."

"Uhh, I'm afraid that never used a bathroom at the Honolulu airport before. And I doubt anyone else here has either. If we travelled to the airport using the Translocator, it'd be in the middle of some busy terminal. We'd draw way too much attention."

"So how else are we supposed to get there?" asked Bracken. "Take a taxi ourselves?"

"The dragons would be fast," said Clover. "But they're all back at home."

"You could ride on our backs," said Bright. "We're not as fast as the dragons, or even a pegasus, but it's better than nothing."

"Not a terrible suggestion," said Seth. "Besides, it's not like we'll get into any conflict just hopping over to the airport."

Bright glanced around at their surroundings. "There really aren't too many people in the immediate vicinity. This garden actually seems pretty quiet."

"How about that behind those hedges over there?" asked Bracken, pointing over to several tall shrubs that were situated over towards the far end of the garden.

"Might as well check it out," said Kendra, as the group walk walked over towards the hedges that Bracken had pointed out, then slipped behind them.

"Doesn't seem to be anybody nearby," said Clover, looking around the area. "Do it now."

"Okay," said Bracken.

Standing completely still, Bracken and Bright both closed their eyes. Suddenly, their bodies began to transform. Their bodies bent forward, causing their arms to shift into legs, while the rest of their bodies took on horse-like appearances. Within seconds, the two of them had successfully transformed into their stunning unicorn forms.

"I'll meet you all at the airport," said Clover, as she looked down at Passion and Goldenrod, both of whom were sitting on her extended hand. "As for you two, you're both staying with me."

Clover then vanished in a puff of green sparkles. At the same time, Passion and Goldenrod also disappeared in red and yellow sparkly puffs respectively.

"Come on," said Bracken, as Kendra climbed up onto his backside. Seth climbed up after Kendra and nestled himself behind her on Bracken's back.

At the same time, Ingrid and Warren had mounted themselves onto Bright's back.

"We're good to go," said Bracken. "Come on!"

Bracken and Bright both leapt into the air, enabling themselves to fly by way of their innate magic.

"The airport should be _that _way," said Warren, pointing off into the distance.

As the unicorns ascended into the air, Kendra and Ingrid, who were the front riders, grasped onto their manes, while the boys gripped their shoulders.

"It's been a while since any of us have gone for a ride on a unicorn," said Seth. "No offense or anything, but Skyfrost or even the other dragons are faster."

"It goes without saying," said Bracken. "Us unicorn are not built for speed. We're flying by means of magic, not natural wings. Even a pegasus such as Windshear would fare a lot better in flight."

"We really don't have far to go, anyway," said Ingrid. "I can see the airport down there in the distance."

Kendra and Seth looked down into the distance, where surely enough, they could see the airport, where a passenger jet had just landed on one of the runways.

"It _is_ close," said Seth. "Our taxi ride from the airport to the hotel took like ten minutes. And that was a car dealing with traffic."

"Fly us down onto the parking garage," said Warren. "It's not an optimal landing point, but we're less likely to draw unwanted attention there."

The unicorns flew down towards the airport parking garage. They soon came to a landing upon the top floor of the garage, which was an open air level lined with rows of parked cars. Despite all of the vehicles, the level appeared to be empty.

"I don't think anyone spotted us," said Kendra, as she and Seth climbed down from atop Bracken.

"Now where do we go?" asked Ingrid, as she and Warren got down from Bright.

"Might as well try the Occulus," said Bracken, as he and Bright transformed back into their humanoid appearances, while Clover reappeared. "It's been a while since you used it last."

"All right," said Seth. "Just give me a second."

The group stopped inside the entrance to the stairwell, where they lined up against the wall. Seth proceeded to use the Occulus again. Concentrating once more, Seth focused on locating Luke.

"I see him," said Seth, as Luke came into view. "He's standing in some line with his dad in one of the terminals."

"What about Larissa?" asked Clover.

"Hold on," said Seth, as his view shifted up towards the high ceiling of the terminal. " I see her. She's floating around not too far from Luke and his dad."

"See if you can find the gate number," said Warren. "We'll need it if we want a chance of finding them in a place like this."

"Looks like Gate 10," said Seth, looking over at a sign. "Let's check it out."

The group made their way down from the parking garage, where they crossed over and into the terminal.

"Gate 10 is this way," said Ingrid, having looked up at a hanging sign.

The group proceeded to scurry though the terminal, looking up at the numbers on the gate as they darted past each one.

"We just passed Gate 16," said Bracken. "Not much longer."

"There's a considerable distance between certain gates," said Warren. "But it shouldn't be much further. Come on!"

After a few more minutes, the group had finally stopped in front of Gate 10, where there was a considerable crowd of people lined up within the stanchions.

"I don't see them anywhere," said Kendra.

"Try the Occulus again," said Bright.

"Got it," said Seth, as he grasped the Occulus in his hands. Luke and his father came into view, only now, they were standing in line for a metal detector.

"Well?" asked Kendra.

"They seem to be in line for the metal detector."

"Oh great..." muttered Warren. "They've already made it through this check-in line. And we can't even get into the metal detector line without boarding passes."

"Couldn't we still sneak in with magic?" asked Clover.

"No. It's too risky in a place like this. Way too many people. We can't afford to get caught.

"The next line is just through that doorway," said Seth, pointing towards the far end of the room. "Luke should be right in there!"

"I'm going to try something," said Bright. "The rest of you, wait here."

Before anybody could react, Bright had seemingly vanished before everybody's eyes.

"What is she doing?" asked Ingrid.

"Just what we need," said Warren. "Another missing fairy."

"She can't just leave us here!" exclaimed Seth. "How are we even supposed to keep up with her?"

"We don't," replied Kendra.

"What are we supposed to do?" asked Seth. "Just stand around here and wait for Bright to return?"

"It's best if we don't wander off," said Bracken. "She's expecting us to be here when we get back. It wouldn't be like Bright to just ditch us."

"Well, it's not like we could get much further than this point anyway," said Warren.

A moment later, Bright, in her diminutive form, appeared in a puff of rainbow sparkles. Floating next to her was Larissa.

"Look who I found," said Bright, glancing over at Larissa, who had a guilty look on her face.

"Guys, I'm really sorry!" exclaimed Larissa.

"I think we need to have a serious talk," said Bracken.

"But what about Luke?" asked Ingrid.

"We got who we really came here for," said Warren. "Let's just get out of here."

Warren proceeded to lead the group down through the terminal, where he slipped into the men's washroom.

"Should we really be going in here?" asked Ingrid, as she stopped in front of the doorway.

"Well, there's always a line up at the ladies' room," said Warren, poking his head back through the door. "But this one is empty. Come on."

Everybody was now standing in the center of the washroom.

"Is everybody here?" asked Clover, looking around at the group.

"Passion, Larissa and Goldenrod are all present and accounted for," said Bracken, looking at the three minor fairies.

"Good," said Warren, as he pulled out the Translocator. "Now let's get out of here before somebody actually _does_ find us."

Everybody placed their hand upon the Translocator. A moment later, they found themselves being whisked out of the airport bathroom and reappearing back in their hotel suite.

"At last," said Ingrid. "Some peace and quiet."

"Not quite," said Bracken, looking over at Passion, Larissa and Goldenrod. "I think you girls need to have a little talk. Please land before us on the coffee table."

The three fairies flew down onto the coffee table, while Bracken, Bright and Clover sat down on the couch in front of it.

"Now, where should we begin?"

"Why not start at the beginning?" asked Clover. "You three, just what were you thinking coming along on our vacation?"

"We really, really, really wanted to come along," replied Goldenrod.

"We didn't think we'd actually get spotted," added Larissa.

"That doesn't excuse what you three have done," said Bracken. "No was our final answer, and for defying us, I see no choice but to see to it that you three are penalized in some manner."

"Like what?" asked Ingrid.

Bracken sighed. "I'm not sure. But we'll definitely be sending the three of them back to Fablehaven. As soon as we're done interrogating them."

"You exposed yourselves," said Bright. "Especially you, Larissa! What were you thinking, revealing yourself to Luke? And Passion and Goldenrod, while all of this was going on?"

"We were mainly hiding out in this room," replied Passion. "We took turns following you people along, to reduce the risk of us getting caught."

"But you did," noted Bright. "Why exactly were you drawn to Luke anyway, Larissa?"

"I- I don't know," replied the blue fairy. "There was just this... attraction that was flowing from him."

"You were attracted to some little kid?" asked Seth.

"Not like that. Luke was just... special. I don't know what it was. He saw me as a butterfly, so he obviously isn't magical, nor does he have any sort of access to the milk. But, there was just this feeling that I could feel was coming from him. And even though he saw me as a butterfly, he could tell that there was something more to me."

"Are you serious?" asked Clover, displaying a sceptical look on her face.

"Larissa, I order you to answer this question truthfully," said Bright. "Were you and Luke really drawn to each other?"

Larissa nodded. "Correct."

"That's very strange," said Bright. "Bracken, Clover and myself did not detect any such activity when we were in the vicinity of Luke. But if Larissa is speaking the truth..."

"It could be that whatever drew Larissa to Luke is too faint for more powerful fairies such as ourselves to even notice," said Clover.

"I never sensed a draw. Mind you, I wasn't even trying to find such a thing."

"Well, perhaps there _is _more to this Luke kid than what one might think," said Kendra.

"And then there was his father," said Warren. "He seemed really intent on trying to acquire Larissa, or should I say, that blue butterfly, when we spoke to him."

"About the father," said Larissa. "I sensed a similar feeling coming from him as well. But he wasn't really friendly like Luke He spent some time trying to capture me by wrapping me in a beach towel, but never came close."

"He seemed really determined, too," said Kendra. "It's like he knew that there was more to Larissa than her simply being a butterfly."

"We need to learn more about these people," said Bracken. "Seth, do you mind using the Occulus to see where they went?"

"Yeah," added Warren. "If you could find out their flight number, or even where their plane is headed, that would be great. Then, once they arrive at their destination, we could get there in advance and be waiting for them."

"I'll see what I can do," said Seth. "Time for me to work my magic once again."

Seth clenched on to the Occulus and focused on locating Luke once again. The boy soon came into view. He and his father were now sitting on chairs in a gate at the airport. No doubt that they were waiting for the flight. But which flight were they on?

Seth then noticed some papers in the father's hand. Intrigued, he zoomed in on them. Upon closer examination, they appeared to be two boarding passes. As one of the passes had its front facing outwards, Seth was able to read it. It not only gave the flight number and time, but its estimated arrival time as well.

"Houston!" exclaimed Seth, his vision still fixated through the Occulus. "They're on the 2:45 flight to Houston!"

"That's like an eight hour flight!" exclaimed Warren. "They're not getting back until real late. And with the time zone difference, that'll be tomorrow morning sometime."

"So what's the plan?" asked Ingrid.

"Simple," said Warren. "We need to intercept them once they're away from all these airports, planes and security personnel. I've never been to Houston. However, Kendra, Bracken and myself have been to Dallas, back when we tried to save Civia."

"Oh yeah," said Kendra, nodding in approval. "You're saying we can take the Translocator to Dallas as a shortcut, then fly the rest of the way?"

"You got it."

"What about these three?" asked Clover, pointing at Passion, Larissa and Goldenrod.

"As strange as this sounds, it might be best if they accompany us," said Bright. "But only so that we can see how Luke reacts to them. If it weren't for that, they'd be grounded!"

"Wait a minute," said Seth. "This sounds like another mission."

"Your point?" asked Ingrid.

"I thought we came to Hawaii to relax! We're on vacation!"


	6. Air Traffic Control

**Chapter 6: Air Traffic Control**

Having assessed the current situation within, the group was now trying to come up with a way to intercept Luke and his father for when they arrived in Houston. The plan seemed simple enough, but would it really be viable?

"So, when we get to Houston," said Ingrid, "how exactly are we supposed to find these two? We don't even have a last name to go by. Just a boy named Luke. We don't know who anything about his dad at all."

"While we could attempt to breach the airline's computer database to delve up any personal information on this Luke kid," said Warren, "it's probably easier if Seth just continues to spy on him using the Occulus. Wherever he ends up, Seth can pinpoint his location."

"So we travel to Dallas, and from there make our way to Houston?" asked Kendra. "How far away are the two cities?"

"Houston to Dallas?" asked Warren, squinting his eyes. "I'd say about an hour's ride on the dragons. Way more than enough time to get to the Houston airport."

"We'll get there hours before Luke does," said Bright. "Does that mean we'll have to wait for him?"

"We can wait for him wherever we want," said Seth. "As long as we don't lose track of his plane."

"Let's at least get back to Fablehaven," said Warren. "From there we can explain all of this to the others back home and recruit the assistance of the dragons."

Warren proceeded to remove the Translocator from his bag.

"Aww, man," said Seth. "Just when I was starting to settle in to this whole vacation thing, we've got another job to do!"

Everybody proceeded to place their hand on the Translocator. Warren then twisted it, and the next thing Kendra and Seth knew, they had emerged back in the living room at Fablehaven, which had previously been empty.

"Incredible," said Goldenrod. "We're back!"

"You three are staying with us while we have a word with Stan," said Bracken.

"Who's there?" came Grandma's voice from the other room.

"Relax, Ruth," said Clover, "we had to come back for something."

The sound of footsteps approached the living room, as Grandma entered. "Your sudden appearance really startled me. I was just in the kitchen cleaning up from breakfast."

"Time zones," said Seth. "We already ate lunch in Hawaii."

"We need to speak with Stan," said Bright.

"He's outside with the others," said Grandma. "Follow me."

Grandma led the group outside through the back door of the house and into the yard, where Grandpa, Mr. and Mrs. Sorenson were all lying on lounge chairs by the pool. Despite being early in the morning, the sun was up and shining down brilliantly.

"What's going on?" asked Mr. Sorenson, looking up at the group, as did the others. "What are you all doing back here?"

"There's quite a bit we need to explain," replied Warren, as he sat down on a vacant chair.

The group proceeded to tell the others about how Passion, Larissa and Goldenrod had followed them all the way to Hawaii, and how Larissa had interacted with Luke, as well as everything else that had led them up to their current point.

"I can't believe it," said Grandpa, glaring over at Passion, Larissa and Goldenrod. "The number of rules you three have just breached by going on what you're all under the impression of is a _little excursion_!"

"We're sorry!" cried Passion. "Really! We didn't think we would cause so much trouble!"

"It's not my fault Luke was able to sense that there was something unusual about me!" exclaimed Larissa.

"Well he did, didn't he?" asked Bracken, frowning at the three fairies.

"That does it," said Grandpa. "Passion, Larissa and Goldenrod, I am suspending you from the preserve. You are to go back to the Fairy Kingdom. For how long, I don't know."

"Leave Fablehaven?" squeaked Goldenrod.

"What?" exclaimed Ingrid. "Grandpa, that's kinda of harsh!"

"Please don't!" gasped Kendra. "That's not fair!"

"Not yet!" shouted Bracken. "We still need the fairies to come with us to Houston. And Larissa is optimal, since she was the fairy that Luke spotted."

"Very well," said Grandpa. "They may accompany you. But once this whole expedition blows over, I want all three of them back in the Fairy Kingdom."

"Understood," replied Bright. "Now, if you will all excuse us, we need to catch up with the dragons."

"No need to catch up," said Seth, pointing upwards, "they're already coming!"

Raxtus, Geminus, Skyfrost and Firesquall, all of whom had been soaring through the sky, were now flying down towards the pool area. Within seconds, they had all landed near the group.

"Uh, hey guys," said Seth.

"We were just going for a little flight around the preserve when we saw that all of you were were suddenly back at Fablehaven," said Raxtus. "What's this all about?"

The group then went ahead and explained their predicament to the dragons.

"So that's why we need your assistance in getting us all to Houston," said Bracken.

"I want to help!" cried Skyfrost. "Count me in!"

"Yeah," added Firesquall, "it beats flying around the forest in circles all day!"

"Of course we'll help them," said Geminus, turning towards the group. "Do you wish to set out now?"

"Now's as good as ever."

"Okay then," said Raxtus. "We can get going, then. Vanessa's taking a nap back in the cave, so would somebody be willing to take care of her until we get back?"

"Consider it done," said Dale, raising his hand.

"Good luck on your mission," said Mrs. Sorenson. "Hope all goes well!"

"All right," said Warren, once again holding out the Translocator. "Here we go!"

Everybody in the group, along with the four dragons, placed their hand or claw upon the Translocator. A moment later, they were all being pulled through space. Once the sensation had ended, the group now found themselves standing on a vacant tarmac surrounded by two rows of long garages with numerous doors.

"What is this place?" asked Ingrid.

"I remembered!" exclaimed Kendra. "This is Lonestar Lockers! We came here back when we were trying to protect Civia, only to get ambushed by the Society!"

"The place seems a lot different during the day," said Bracken. "Also feels a lot safer, too."

"I choose this spot, since it was pretty barren when we were here last," said Warren. "Anyway, we might as well get a move on."

Warren proceeded to climb up onto Firesquall's back. In turn, Kendra climbed up onto Raxtus' back, while Seth did the same to Skyfrost. Likewise, Ingrid got onto Geminus.

"I guess this is our cue to conceal ourselves," said Bright. "See you all soon!"

"You three are staying close to us," said Clover, looking over at Passion, Larissa and Goldenrod.

With their riders now on their backs, the dragons proceeded to flap their wings before leaping up into the air. Soon they had flown up and away from the locker complex, and higher towards the sky. Within a minute or so, they found themselves drifting above the clouds.

"Warren," said Raxtus, "where exactly is Houston from here?"

"It's southeast of here," replied Warren. "You guys know where that is, 'cause I'm not sure at all."

"Southeast?" asked Firesquall, "it's over in _that_ direction.

The dragons responded by flying off in the direction that Firesquall had glanced over in.

"You dragons sure about this?" asked Ingrid.

"Relax," said Skyfrost. "Us dragons know what we're doing. It's instinct."

The dragons proceeded to continue flying across the sky. Whenever there were no clouds beneath them, it was possible to look downwards and see the desert that spanned the surface of the Earth below.

The hour-long flight time that Warren had predicted had proven to be more-or-less accurate. However, the hour seemed to pass by rather quickly. Soon the buildings of Houston could be seen down in the distance. With Warren's guidance, the dragons were then closing in on the location of George Bush International Continental Airport.

The dragons slowed their descent as the approached a terminal of the airport, where they landed themselves upon the roof. At the same time, the fairies all magically appeared next to them.

"Now what?" asked Seth, as he glanced at his watch. "We still have _plenty_ of time before that plane even gets here. Are we just supposed to wait here all day until it arrives or what?"

"All we really had to do for the time being was make it to this point," said Warren, as he removed the Translocator from his bag. "Now that we're here, we can come back any time we want. Besides, do you really think I'd enjoy wasting my day loitering around on the roof of some airport?"

"We can still enjoy the rest of our day," said Kendra. "Why don't we just go back to Hawaii and wait things out a bit?"

"Agreed," said Warren. "As long as the Knights of the Dawn are paying for us to stay in exquisite hotel suite, we may as well make the best of it."

"What about us?" asked Skyfrost. "Can't we come, too?

Bracken shook his head, then turned it to face Passion, Larissa and Goldenrod. "Absolutely not. These three have caused enough trouble as it is."

"That's not fair!" blurted Firesquall.

"Look, a vacation such as this is no place for dragons," said Clover. "Or fairies. Minor fairies, that is. "You'll have to go back home."

"Listen to her," said Raxtus. "Things are already shaky enough as it is."

"Fine," moaned Skyfrost, as he placed his claw upon the Translocator, as did the other dragons.

"We'll head back to Fablehaven first," said Bright. "Then we can go back to Hawaii immediately after."

Once everybody was touching the Translocator, the artifact suddenly transported them back to the yard at Fablehaven.

"Geminus, I want you to keep a close watch on the fairies," said Bracken. "Don't let them out of your sight."

"I've got an idea," said Geminus, as she squinted her eyes. A moment later, a pink aura surrounded each of the three fairies.

"What'd you just do?" exclaimed Larissa, whose normally blue glow was being partially drained out by a more prominent pink one.

"This spell will prevent you you three from leaving my presence," said Geminus.

"But why?" asked Passion. "It's not like we'll leave the preserve again."

"You don't get it, do you?" asked Clover. "You three are being grounded!"

"Grounded?" asked Goldenrod. "But, but, but..."

"That's enough," said Bracken. "We will come back for you once we're ready to return to the airport in Houston."

The fairies all moaned as Warren held up the Translocator.

"We'll see you all later," said Kendra, as she, Seth, Ingrid, Bright, Bracken and Clover all placed their hand onto the Translocator.

Within a second, the surrounding area shifted from that of Fablehaven to the inside of their hotel room back in Hawaii.

"Wa-hoo!" said Seth. "The day isn't over yet!"

"I kinda feel guilty," said Ingrid. "Passion, Larissa and Goldenrod sounded upset."

"They_ should_ be upset," said Bright. "It's not like this was an accident. The three of them disobeyed strict orders. Penalizing them is the only way they'll learn."

"But, because of them, we never would have found out about Luke."

"It was a happy accident," said Warren. "Total serendipity."

"You know, Warren," said Seth, "if I hadn't have broken some of Grandpa's rules a few years ago, we never would've restored Grandma as a chicken, or you when you were an albino. Heck, you're the one who told me to stow away in the knapsack to Wyrmroost."

"This is different," said Clover. "There's no ulterior motive here. They just want to have fun."

"Really?" asked Seth. "Is it really all that different?"

"Aside from their antics in regards to following us to Hawaii, I actually like those three," said Kendra. "And after this is all said and done, they're getting sent away from Fablehaven."

"I'm sorry, Kendra," said Bracken. "But they need to learn that there is a consequence for their actions."

"I guess," said Seth. "Hey. You think I should check on Luke again, just to make sure that he's on the plane?"

"Might as well," replied Warren.

Seth withdrew the Occulus from his bag. He then sat down on a sofa, held the artifact between his hands, closed his eyes, and began to focus.

A moment later, Luke suddenly came into view. Surely enough, Seth could see that Luke was seated in the window seat of an airplane. And sitting next to him was none other than his own father.

"Yeah, they're on a plane all right," said Seth. "And it looks like they're riding in first class, just like we were!"

"The dad must be loaded," said Kendra. "Before Seth and I got involved with Fablehaven and the Knights of the Dawn, our parents never would have sprung for such a luxury."

"Just who are these people, anyway?" asked Clover.

"We'll find out soon enough," replied Warren.

"I know we have the time of their scheduled arrival," said Kendra. "But Seth, can you try to find out where exactly the plane currently is?"

"Fine..." said Seth, who was still peering through the Occulus. He proceeded to zoomed away from Luke, until his view shifted to the exterior of the plane flying over the Pacific Ocean. Still fixated on the plane, Seth's view retreated away from the Earth, even long after the plane had become to small to see.

"I see them," said Seth. "Somebody get me a map!"

"Already taken care of," said Warren. "Look here."

Seth opened his eyes, bringing his viewpoint back into his own body.

"Where is it?" asked Seth.

Warren held up a tablet in front of Seth's face. On the screen was a partial map of the Pacific Ocean. Warren had presumably zoomed it in to show mostly the the western coast of North America, although Hawaii was in plain sight over on the left side of the screen.

"They're around... here," said Seth, pointing roughly to where he had seen the plane through the Occulus. As Seth placed his fingertip on the screen, a marker appeared on the map.

"Okay," said Warren, pulling the tablet away from Seth and tapping the screen a few times. "The plane has gone roughly five-hundred miles so far. And the distance from Honolulu to Houston is... 3,892 miles."

"How can you be so sure?" asked Clover.

"What can I say? Computers are magical, too."

"It's an eight hour flight," said Kendra. "And the plane isn't scheduled to land for roughly another seven hours? It won't land until almost eleven!"

"Even worse," said Warren. "There's a four hour time difference between Honolulu and Houston. So the time in Houston when it will and will be more like three in the morning."

"Everyone's going to be so tired," said Seth. "What are we supposed to do? Stay up all night?"

"When Luke and his dad get home, they're just going to crash in their beds," said Kendra. "I can't see why they'd stay up all night if they've been travelling."

"Let's just enjoy the rest of our day in Hawaii," said Warren. "We can worry about Luke in the morning. If Seth is still able to track him down now, why wouldn't he be able to do so tomorrow?

Everybody nodded in agreement.

"It's probably too late to do anything worthwhile at this point" said Kendra. "The greater portion of the day is gone."

"Let's head back to the beach," said Ingrid. "It was a lot of fun."

For the remained of the afternoon, the group returned to the beach. To everyone's surprise, the sandcastle town that had been built earlier was still intact. Kids were playing with it, but they were inevitably different kids than the ones who had been there earlier in the day.

The group went for a walk along the beach, picking up and inspecting various seashells. For the most part, they made sure to put them back on the beach, so as to leave them for other visitors to see. However, everybody felt okay taking just one shell to keep.

Next, the group went for swim in the ocean, making sure to stay close to the shore. The gentle waves made it fun to sway up and down in the water without being too overbearing. By the time the group had gotten tired of swimming and relaxing on the beach, everybody had grown hungry.

The group went to an Italian restaurant for dinner. They had no doubt had a long day, and treating themselves to a delicious meal consisting of either pasta or pizza was a savoury treat, which was followed by a dessert of gelato and cake.

After dinner was finished, the group returned to their hotel suite, where they watched a streamed movie in the main room. Once it was finished, Warren shut off the TV.

"What gives?" asked Seth. "I want to watch The Daily Show."

"Forget it," said Warren. "We need to get up early tomorrow so we can go after Luke."

"I almost forgot about all that," said Ingrid. "I was having such a good time, too."

"But do we really have to be up early?" asked Seth.

"Well, there is that four hour time zone difference," said Kendra. "Even if they get home late, they may not sleep in all day tomorrow."

"All right," said Seth. "Guess I just hit the hay."

Soon everybody returned to their rooms and got ready for bed. Once they had all washed up and changed, the group climbed into their beds and allowed themselves to all fall asleep.


	7. Investigation

**Chapter 7: Investigation**

Kendra's comfortable slumber was abruptly interrupted by the shaking of her own body. Although her eyes were still closed, she had now awakened, and could in fact feel that someone else was forcefully shaking the side of her body.

"Wake up," came Bracken's voice. Kendra opened her eyes and could see the unicorn prince himself, standing next to her bed, pushing against her body.

"Bracken..." groaned Kendra. "What time is it?"

"It's five A.M. Come on, Kendra. You've got to get up and dressed."

"Five in the morning? Come on. That's way too early."

Nevertheless, Kendra forced herself to slip out of bed.

"Go and freshen up," said Bracken, as he walked toward the door to Kendra's room. "But try not to take too long. I've still got to wake up a few of the others."

"Yes, Bracken." huffed Kendra, as Bracken left the room, closing the door behind himself.

Part of her still more interested in plopping back down onto the bed and falling asleep for a few more hours, Kendra forced herself into her private bathroom. Once she had gotten into the shower and been sprayed with a stream of water from the showerhead, she felt a little more invigorated.

After washing up and changing into her clothes, Kendra met up with the rest of the group in the suite's private dining room, where the others were all sitting down to a meal of Eggs Benedict and sliced fruit.

"Where'd all this food come from?" asked Kendra, as she sat down in a vacant chair.

"Room service," replied Warren. "They'll make you anything you want, any time you want."

"Remind me again why we're up so early?" asked Ingrid, as she cut into her Eggs Benedict.

"Four hour time difference. It's four hours ahead over in Texas."

"Speaking of which," said Seth, "we still don't know where Luke is now. Last time I checked on him was last night when he was on the plane."

"Might as well check on him now," said Clover.

"Okay. Let me just finish this plate first. This meal's delicious!"

Once Seth had finished his breakfast, he took hold of the Translocator, closed his eyes and pictured Luke in his mind again. Surely enough, Luke began to appear. He was apparently outside, sitting on a wooden chair in what appeared to be a large garden.

Seth looked around at the garden. As he scanned the area, he could see freshly-trimmed hedges, a glistening swimming pool, and a large mansion with stately columns. This was no garden. It was a part of a huge backyard.

"Something tells me this family is loaded," said Seth. "This home is huge!"

"Where is this _home_?" asked Bright.

"Let me see," said Seth, still gazing around at the size of the expansive estate. "I'll go out to the front of the house, where I can see the address."

Seth directed his focus towards the large, three-story house, then rose above it and into over the front yard. A long driveway spanned from a gate at the front of the yard, curved around at the front of the house and looped back towards a second gate. Much like the backyard, the front was well-tended, containing numerous trees, bushes, hedges and flower beds.

Trying to not allow himself to be drawn towards the decorations that were strewn about the yard, Seth shifted his view over the front gate, then lowered it down to street level and turned to face the fence, so that he was looking in at the estate from outside the property.

Seth looked over at the right-hand gate that no doubt served as the entrance to the property. Although the wrought iron door was closed, Seth noticed an address plate located on a wall to the side of the gate. It read _Fifty-seven Hillcrest Boulevard._

"I've got the address!" said Seth. "Fifty-seven Hillcrest Boulevard!"

"Hold on a second," said Warren. "I'm going to search out that address on street view map. Okay, Seth. I want you to check if this is correct."

Seth then opened his eyes, bringing him back to his proper viewpoint of sitting on the couch back in the hotel room. Warren was standing in front of Seth, ready to present his tablet to him. Seth accepted the tablet from Warren and took a look at what was on the screen. Surely enough, it was a photograph of the property that had been taken from the street.

"That's it!" exclaimed Seth. "That's the place!"

"Great!" said Warren, taking back his tablet from Seth. He then proceeded to tap the screen a few more times. "Okay, I've got a pretty good idea of where we need to go. If everybody's ready, let's head back to Fablehaven and recruit the dragons again."

The group wasted no time in washing up, then gathered together again in the living room. Now that they were all ready, Warren held out the Translocator. Once everybody was touching it, Warren twisted the artifact and transported the group to the backyard at Fablehaven, not too far from the dragons' cave.

"Before I forget," said Bright, as she snapped her fingers, causing Passion, Larissa and Goldenrod to appear next to her.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" asked Passion.

"You're coming with us," said Bright. "Come on."

"Do we really need the dragons for this?" asked Ingrid, as the group walked towards the entrance of the cave. "I mean, can't we just take a taxi there, like we did for the museum when we went to Washington?"

"A dragon's more fun than a taxi," replied Seth. "And you don't have to tip them, neither."

"Not only that," said Bracken, "but we've got to sneak onto the property. And that means getting over that fence that's surrounding it."

"Sneak on to the property?" asked Ingrid.

"Well, it would seem pretty suspicious if we just showed up at that house, demanding to have a visit," said Kendra.

The group entered the cave, where the entire dragon family was presently nestled up against the far wall.

"Is it time?" asked Raxtus, as he and the other dragons looked over at the approaching visitors.

"You bet," said Seth.

"Cool," said Skyfrost. "We get to go on another adventure."

"Don't get excited," said Bright. "It's just a quick flight. But you dragons would still be beneficial, that's for sure."

"What about Vanessa?" asked Geminus, looking down at the purple hatchling, who was sitting down on the floor of the cave next to her.

Warren winced. "Sorry. I kinda jumped the gun in all the excitement."

"I'll go tell someone," said Clover. "Don't worry, I'll be right back."

Clover then disappeared in a puff of green sparkles. A moment later, she then made a reappearance.

"I told Ruth about Vanessa. "She said she'll come out for her in a moment to look after her."

"Okay, then," said Raxtus. "Goodbye, Vanessa. We'll be back soon!"

Soon everybody in the cave, sans Vanessa, was touching the Translocator. Warren twisted the top of it, hurling everyone who was making contact with it through space, where they reappeared on the roof of the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. The sudden rise in temperature, coupled with the volume of the local noise came as quite a shock to everybody.

"Okay," said Firesquall, "where are we supposed to go from here?"

"Let's see," said Warren, as he slipped the Translocator back into his bag and removed his tablet. This airport is in the north end of the city. We want to head southwest from here."

"Southwest is... _that_ way," said Raxtus, peering off in one direction. "Let's go!"

Kendra then climbed up onto Raxtus' back, while Seth got onto Skyfrost, Ingrid onto Geminus and Warren onto Firesquall. Bright, Bracken, Clover, Passion, Larissa and Goldenrod all disappeared.

"Since I've got the tablet," said Warren, "Firesquall, I want you to lead the way with me."

"No problem," said Firesquall, as he stretched out his wings, displaying his impressive wingspan. Likewise, the other dragons followed suit, as Firesquall proceeded to flap his wings and took off into the air.

The dragons rose over and above the city as they soared across the sky. Looking down from the backs of their dragons, Kendra and Seth could see the streets and buildings of Houston far beneath them as they flew through the clouds.

"Okay," said Warren, who had one hand on Firesquall's neck and his tablet in the other, "we seem to be getting very close to the address. "Firesquall, I want you to make a downwards plunge, slightly to your right, in about three... two... now!"

Firesquall tucked in his wings and proceeded to dive downwards towards the ground. Likewise, the other dragons followed suit. By now, Kendra and Seth were more than used to quickly descending on the back of a dragon. However, they weren't so sure about Ingrid, as she was screaming while Geminus flew her downwards.

Once he was roughly one-hundred feet above the ground, Firesquall came to a stop, prompting the other dragons to follow suit. Beneath them, Kendra and Seth could see several several large estates lined up in a row along a street.

"Good job, Firesquall," said Warren, pointing downwards, "The house we're looking for seems to be that one right over there!"

"Where should we go from here?" asked Geminus.

"Luke was in the backyard when I saw him through the Occulus," said Seth. "And that was only about ten minutes ago."

"That yard looks like a large place," said Kendra. "I bet you could land on the far side somewhere without even getting noticed."

"Luke was near the house," said Seth. "Let's go for it."

The dragons then soared down towards the rear end of the backyard, making sure to land behind a row of tall hedges not too far from the ten-foot wall that bordered the property.

"I don't think anybody noticed us," said Geminus. "That's good."

At that moment, Bright, Bracken, Clover, Passion, Larissa and Goldenrod all appeared next to the group.

"Don't do that!" exclaimed Ingrid. "You really startled me! Nothing personal, but I was hoping nobody had spotted us."

"Relax," said Bracken, patting Ingrid on her shoulder. "We've been with you the whole time, remember?"

"So, what exactly are we trying to do from here?" asked Kendra.

"Well, we need to see just how Luke reacts in the presence of these three," said Bracken, gesturing towards Passion, Larissa and Goldenrod. "And Luke needs to understand that while he may be intrigued, he can't get involved with us and what we truly represent."

"I'll be an escort for Passion, Larissa and Goldenrod," said Bright. She then shrunk down into her diminutive form. "Come on, you three."

Bright proceeded to fly over the hedge, while the fairy trio followed along right behind her.

"We may as well follow along, as long as we keep to the side," said Bracken, as he shrunk down into his smaller, fairy form.

"Hold on," said Ingrid. "How're the rest of us supposed to follow you?"

"Well, I've got an idea," said Clover, revealing a suspicious grin. "It's not powerful enough to work on the dragons, but it should do the trick for you humans."

"So, what is it?" asked Seth.

"You ready?"

"Just do it," said Seth.

"You're the boss," said Clover, as she waved her hands around, unleashing a shower of green sparkles upon Kendra, Seth, Ingrid and Warren.

"Hey," moaned Kendra, as he body started to feel tingly. "What are you doing to us?"

Before anyone could go on, Kendra and Seth could both feel their bodies compressing inwards, as they started to shrink. But a reduction in size wasn't the only change they were experiencing; Clover had used their powers to transform them all into another type of creature!

Now standing on all fours, Kendra opened her eyes. Standing in place of where Seth, Ingrid and Warren had been were three cats.

"Aye!" snapped Seth, once he realized what was going on. "Clover! Why'd you turn us into cats!"

"Cats are small and agile," said Clover. "Plus, they've got pretty good hearing. Not as good hearing as dogs, but they compensate with better vision."

"Crazy," said Ingrid, who had been turned into a calico cat. "I've only been transformed once before, and I was asleep the whole time."

"Clover doesn't normally do this sort of thing, do you..." said Warren, who was now a brown tabby, who was glaring at the green fairy with his intense green cat eyes.

"What kind of cat am I?" asked Kendra, as she tried to feel around with his front paws, a change from her usual hands.

"You're a fluffy white Persian," said Ingrid.

"What about me?" asked Seth.

"A black cat," replied Warren.

"Oh sure," said Seth, " let _me_ be the one with the superstitious stigma."

"What about us?" asked Skyfrost. Looking up at the wyvern, the cats could see that he and the other dragons were now massive from their new lower, smaller perspective.

"I'm sorry," stated Clover. "But you dragons are too much for us. You'll have to wait here!"

"Bummer," muttered Firesquall.

Once Clover had shrunken herself down, she and Bracken began to fly over towards the wall along one side of the yard. Now on four legs, Kendra, Seth and Warren all scampered along behind them through the bushes. Much to their pleasure, they found that they could run quite fast.

"Hey, wait for me!" exclaimed Ingrid, as she dashed to keep up with the others. "I'm not used to running with so many feet!"

"Keep it down!" said Bracken. "We don't want to attract any unwanted attention once we get close to Luke!"

"Sorry," said Seth.

The cats and the fairies continued down behind the bushes that were growing near the wall, before stopping across from the chair where Luke was sitting, still gazing into the sky.

"Hey," this is a pretty good spot," said Kendra, peering between the leaves of the bushes at Luke.

"And there's Passion, Larissa and Goldenrod," said Warren. Floating roughly twenty feet over Luke were the three fairies, but not in a position from where Luke could see them.

"Hey, where's Bright?" asked Ingrid.

"She must be around somewhere," said Bracken. "I can sense her."

A moment later, Passion, Larissa and Goldenrod flew downwards, stopping just a few feet in front of Luke's face.

"Oh... wow!" exclaimed Luke. "You came back! And you're with... friends! But... how did you find me? Oh, I wish you could talk!"

"Wow, I can hear them loud and clear," said Seth.

"Well, we are cats," said Kendra. "We're very sensitive to sound."

"We _can_ talk," said Larissa.

"Oh my gosh!" gasped Luke. "I knew it! I knew you were special!"

"Luke," said Goldenrod. "We need to talk to you about something."

"How can you talk? Butterflies aren't supposed to talk. But I can't be pretending this!"

"You're not imagining this," said Passion. "You see..."

"You're a special boy, Luke," said Larissa. "I could sense that you weren't like other people. But other people just wouldn't understand us."

"I'm special?" asked Luke. "But.. why?"

"There was just this... draw that I was sensing from you. That's why I felt you were special."

"But, there's a problem," said Goldenrod. "Nobody else can know about us. Not even your father."

"So we can't stay with you," said Passion.

"You can't?" asked Luke. "Why not?"

"We'd risk being found out by others. And we need to remain a secret!"

"But, I like you! You're special! All of you!"

"Please, don't go! At least let my father meet you! He'd understand!"

"I'm really sorry, but we can't allow that," said Larissa. "He's an adult. He wouldn't understand what we're like."

"I resent that remark," muttered Warren.

"Poor Luke," said Kendra. "I feel bad for him. Imagine all the anguish he must be experiencing. He discovered this extraordinary, talking butterfly, only to learn that he can no longer be with it."

"He doesn't even know the half of it," said Seth.

"Would it really be so bad for Luke to know... the truth?" asked Ingrid. "That they're actually fairies? I mean, what harm could it do?"

"Luke isn't an individual we have any real influence or control over," said Clover. "And he's probably too young to properly grasp the concept. Poor kid. I feel that he means well, which is why Larissa was drawn to him in the first place."

"I just wish there was a better way than... this," said Kendra.

"Did you guys hear something?" asked Ingrid.

"No," replied Seth. "Just the fairies talking to Luke."

"Ingrid's onto something," said Warren, his ears now in an _alert cat _position. "Someone's coming."

"Who'd know to look for us here?" asked Seth. "All they'd see are a few cats."

"A dog!" snapped Ingrid.

"What dog?" asked Kendra.

At that moment, a large, black dog came running over towards the bushes. It quickly stopped right in front of the cats, lowered its face and let out a loud bark, revealing an intimidating set of teeth.

"That dog!" yelled Warren, as his tail and the fur on his back shot up.

Ingrid screamed, then darted across the lawn, only for the doberman pinscher to chase after her.

"Ingrid!" gasped Kendra.

"Clover, Bracken, do something!" shrieked Seth, as he, Kendra and Warren began to run onto the lawn, chasing after the dog. At the pace they were going, the dog was too fast for them to keep up with.

"Crusher, stop!" shouted Luke. "Now!"

Suddenly, the dog came to an abrupt stop and let out a whimper. Ingrid continued to run, but Kendra, Seth and Warren all stopped before they crashed into the doberman.

"What's going on out here!" exclaimed Luke's dad, whose voice was coming from the back door of the house.

"Nothing, Dad!" said Luke. "Crusher's just chasing after some cats. Come here, girl."

Crusher then ran towards Luke, ignoring the cats as if they weren't even there.

"Is she gone?" asked Ingrid, as she scampered back towards the group. "Stupid dog almost ate me!"

"Smart dog, actually," said Warren. "She must be well-trained."

"Luke, I know there's something else going on that you're not telling me about," said the father. "And it's not the cats!"

"Dad it's nothing! Please."

"Don't worry," said Larissa, as Luke's father proceeded to walk out of the house. "Your dad doesn't know that we're..."

"Fairies!" exclaimed the father, his jaw drooping in amazement. "Luke! You did it! You've discovered fairies!"


	8. The Reveal

**Chapter 8: The Reveal**

Everybody in the yard turned their attention over towards Luke's father, whose sudden remark had them trembling in their bones.

"Fairies?" gasped Luke. "Are you sure?"

"They _are_ real," said the father. "I knew it. I just knew it!"

"No!" gasped Kendra, shaking her head. "He can't know! He just can't!"

"They're really fairies?" asked Luke, as Passion, Larissa and Goldenrod started to flutter away from him and his father.

"No!" exclaimed the father. "Please, come back! I've been so eager to learn about you!"

"Enough!" came Bright's voice, as she appeared on the lawn in front of Luke and his father, now in her full-sized body."

"Who are you?" asked Luke. "How'd you do that?"

"It's another fairy!" said the father. "She's huge, but she has to be a fairy! She's got hair like a rainbow and wings."

"How can you tell?" asked Bright.

"I have a method of seeing you."

"We need to talk to this man," said Warren. "Clover, turn us back into humans now. He knows too much."

Clover directed a stream of green sparkles over at Kendra, Seth, Warren and Ingrid, causing them to transform from their cat bodies back into human beings.

"You people!" gasped the father. "How'd you..."

"Are they fairies, too?" asked Luke.

"Must be shape shifters," said the father, as he handed something small to Luke. "Eat this."

Luke stuck what his father had handed to him into his mouth and proceeded to chew it. Before he had even finished, his eyes lit up, and he spat out some of the chewed-up food that was still in his mouth.

"Dad, you weren't kidding! She really is a fairy! So are those other ones."

"I think all of us need to talk," said Bracken, as he and Clover grew back into their full-sized bodies.

Kendra, Seth, Warren, Ingrid, Bright, Bracken and Clover, now all properly-sized humans, walked up to the spot where Luke, the father and Crusher had all gathered.

"Who are you?" asked Kendra, looking at the aghast faces that the father and son were both wearing.

"My name is Glenn Landry," said the man. "And this is my son, Luke."

"How are you able to see these fairies?" asked Warren.

"I know this sounds crazy, but it was by eating this special cheese."

Glenn extended his hand, revealing several cheese curds in his palm.

"Magical cheese?" asked Seth.

"Where did you get this cheese?" asked Bright.

"I got it from an associate of mine."

"Quit the act," said Warren crossing his arms and frowning. "Now listen. This isn't a game! Tell us exactly where you got this cheese! Because believe me, we can do a lot more to you than your dog can do to us!"

"Okay!" exclaimed Glenn. "I don't know if you've heard of him, but he lives in Georgia. His name's Wesley Fairbanks."

"You know the Fairbanks?" asked Kendra.

"I can tell that you certainly do," said Glenn, cracking a smile.

"I don't get it," said Warren to himself. "Why would Mr. Fairbanks just give away such coveted information?"

"I think we need to have a little talk. Inside the house."

"Wait a moment," said Bracken, glancing towards the far end of the yard. "What about... you know... them?"

"Who's _them_?" asked Glenn.

"We came here with a few dragons," replied Clover. "Gentle ones, no less. If you cooperate with us, perhaps we'll let you meet them."

"I'm sending a telepathic message to Raxtus and Geminus right now," said Bracken, who had placed his hand against his forehead.

"Dragons?" asked Luke, sounding worried as he spoke. "Dad tells me that dragons are all mean and scary!"

"These dragons are an exception to the rule," said Seth, as Glenn led everybody up onto the back patio and through the back door of the mansion.

The door led into the kitchen, which was very large and newly-furnished, filled with multiple refrigerators, stoves, sinks and dishwashers.

"This way," said Glenn, as he led the group down an arched hallway lined with exquisite paintings, as well as marble flooring.

"This place is huge!" muttered Ingrid, admiring the house.

"They always said everything is bigger in Texas," said Warren.

"Dad, where are we going?" asked Luke, as his father stopped in front of a pair of closed, ebony doors.

Without responding, Glenn pulled a key from out of his pocket and used it to unlock the doors.

"Wait here," said Glenn, as he passed through the doors. "I need to turn off the alarm."

Kendra and Seth listened as Glenn pressed several buttons on a keypad located on the other side of the doors. He then opened both of the doors all the way, revealing a room lined with bookcases and a long, oak board table in the center, which was lined with plush, leather office chairs.

"Please," said Glenn. "Take a seat."

Glenn sat down at the head of the table, while Luke sat immediately to his side. Members of the group seated themselves in the nearest chairs. Passion, Larissa and Goldenrod landed atop the table, in front of where Kendra had sat.

"Now," said Bracken, "we'll be happy to tell you about us. Provided you tell us as to how you arrived at the point you're at."

"Well," began Glenn, "ever since I was a child, I was always fascinated with fantasy. Something about it... It all just felt like it could be real. Even though there was never any concrete proof. But no matter how much I believed in it, everybody told me that it didn't exist. They told me to move on and stop obsessing over stuff such as mystical creatures and magic. Now, I did manage to move on with my life, but I never stopped believing."

"What about the cheese?" asked Warren. "How'd you end up with that?"

"The cheese was a recent acquisition. You see, when I was younger, my parents weren't too keen about my little... _obsession_. So I was prohibited from owning any memorabilia while I was living under their roof. I could see where they were coming from, but their wishes couldn't stop me from appreciating fantasy in secret. Once I left the house and went off to school, I was able to pick up from where I left off as a child. I had a part time job, allowing me to pay for fantasy-related books and trinkets."

"What kind of books and trinkets are you talking about?" asked Seth.

"Probably nothing special. At that time, all I had access to were books anybody could walk into a store and buy. However, once I graduated from business school, I got into the oil business and over the years, amassed my own fortune. Now that I had money to burn, I was able to purchase anything my heart desired, enough to fill this entire room."

"The cheese?" asked Warren.

"I'm getting there. You see, although my collection continued to grow, I came no closer to finding any concrete evidence that any of this fantasy stuff was actually real. I scoured countless libraries, collectors and internet sites, but wasn't having any real success. However, last year, I went to a shareholders' meeting. While I was waiting for the meeting to start, I was reading a book about nymphs. Never before had anybody cared about my personal interests, until I was interested by one Wesley Fairbanks."

"What did he say?" asked Kendra.

"Well, he asked me if I was interested in magical creatures," replied Glenn. "I told him yes, and he invited me out for dinner that night. He was the first person I'd ever met who truly understood me. Now, Wesley never flat-out said that there really were magical creatures out there, but he did tell me to never stop believing, and even game me some cheese that he had in his hotel room. I had read about magical milk, and surmised that perhaps the cheese really was special. Wesley had told me that I should save it, and that it came from a place called Fablehaven, which I had never..."

"Fablehaven!" exclaimed Seth, whose heart had skipped a beat. "It can't be..."

"Yeah, he said the cheese was made from the milk of a huge, magical cow."

"You don't get it," said Warren. "Fablehaven is where we live."

"Fablehaven is real?" asked Glenn. "You mean it? Oh, where was I? Anyway, long story short, when Luke and I were in Hawaii, he was approached by this strange butterfly. Since I had told Luke all that I knew about the fantasy world, he too was wary of the butterfly. However, neither of us were sure, plus we had to leave to head back home that same day. I _never_ thought the fairy would return. Yet here she is, along with the rest of you."

"Warren," said Kendra, tugging her cousin by her arm, "was it okay for Mr. Fairbanks to tell this guy about our world?"

"Mr. Fairbanks admittedly did not tell me that any of this was real," replied Glenn. "He merely told me that it could be real, and that I should never stop believing. Now tell me already. Who are you people and how did you get to this point?"

"We'll tell you," said Clover. "Under the agreement that you promise to never speak a word of this to anyone."

"I promise," said Glenn, nodding his head.

The group proceeded to introduce themselves to the Landrys, starting with the four humans. Once they got around to the fairies' turns, Glenn and Luke were both quite intrigued.

"Let me get this straight," said Glenn. "The fairy realm is a real place? And you're all from there?"

"Correct," said Bracken.

"The fairy realm. I've only ever read about it in books. But it was mostly conjecture. Information about it, whether its fact or fiction, is scarce."

The group went on to tell the Landrys about things like preserves, the Knights of the Dawn, their allies, their enemies, as well as the adventures they had been on.

"So what brought you to Hawaii?" asked Glenn.

"Vacation, really," replied Seth. "We were hoping to just enjoy ourselves, but some unwanted guests decided to tag along and crash the party!"

As Seth spoke, he glared over at Passion, Larissa and Goldenrod.

"Luke and I _did_ travel to Hawaii for pleasure. However, I was hoping to get a chance to scope out any possible signs of the magical world, possibly aspects indigenous to Hawaii. Until Luke had spotted what turned out to be Larissa, we'd been having zero success.

"Larissa, why exactly were you drawn to Luke, anyway?"

"I'm not sure..." replied the blue fairy. "He just felt special."

"Luke," said Bright, "before what happened yesterday on the beach, did you think that magic and mystical creatures were real?"

"Well..." said Luke, "I wasn't sure. I wanted to believe they were real. My dad kept convincing me that they were. He told me to never give up hope."

"That's correct," said Glenn. "As absurd as some of this stuff seemed, a part of me felt that there had to be _some _truth to it. That's why I explained to Luke to keep an open mind, and to truly accept the fact that all of this magic stuff could in fact be real."

Kendra stopped to think for a moment. Glenn's attitude towards Luke reminded her of her grandparents trying to introduce her parents, and later herself and Seth, to the magic of Fablehaven. The only major difference was that the Sorensons actually knew the truth, while Glenn was basing everything he knew purely off of assumption.

"Do you mind telling me a bit about Fablehaven?" asked Glenn. "I understand if I can't go there, but I'd be really interested in hearing about it."

"I supposed we can tell you," said Warren. "At this point, what have we got to lose?"

The group proceeded to tell Glenn and Luke about Fablehaven, without giving too much of its actual secrets away. The Landrys were absolutely fascinated by hearing about all of the creatures who lived. What they said about Viola was truly a wonder to the Landrys, for the very cheese they had just consumed had been made from her milk.

"Can you show us some magic?" asked Luke. "I haven't really seen much. The cats turning into people happened so fast."

"Magic?" asked Bracken, squinting his eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Could you?" asked Glenn.

"I suppose we can," said Bright. "Watch this."

Bright extended her hand and unleashed a flow of rainbow sparkles towards Luke. Suddenly, Luke began to levitate upwards and off of his chair, so that he was hovering a few feet above the table.

"I'm flying!" exclaimed Luke, as he flailed his arms and legs around, trying to position himself. "I'm really flying!"

"I don't believe it," said Glenn, staring at his floating sun with his mouth hung low. "How'd you do that?"

"Magic," said Bright, as she used her power to lower Luke back down onto the floor in a standing position.

"I really flew!" said Luke, as he jumped into the air, only to drop down immediately after. He then jumped up again in an attempt to fly, but unsurprisingly failed.

"Luke, stop jumping in the house," said Glenn, turning his head towards the group, as he mouthed something in astonishment.

"This really seems like a large house," said Seth. "Anybody else even live here?"

"I'm afraid not," said Glenn. "My wife passed away two years ago, so it's just been Luke and myself. And Crusher. We have a few staff who work for us, but none of them reside on the premises. I treasure my family's privacy."

"Do more magic!" cried Luke. "That was so cool!"

"Luke, try to show some respect for our guests. You can't expect them to just perform on command like circus animals."

"Speaking of animals," said Warren, "would you like to see the dragons now?"

"They're nice, you said. Yes?"

"Believe me," said Warren, "if we had wanted to pose a threat, we would have done it the minute we got here. We clearly have the resources to devastate you if we so chose. But we won't, because we're the good guys."

Glenn got up from the table and walked back towards the door, gesturing for Luke and the group to get up from the table and follow him.

"Look, I don't want you folks to see me as a _bad guy_ either," said Glenn, as he opened up the doors to the hallway. But I can understand if you feel wary. I mean, you guys have access to real magic and powerful creatures. All I've got for protection is Crusher, my pistol, some insurance and a team of lawyers."

Glenn led the group through the hall and back towards the kitchen. From there, the group went back outside onto the patio, where they were greeted by Crusher. Now in friendlier spirits, Crushers was panting and wagging her tail.

"Come here, girl," said Warren, as he rubbed the Doberman Pinscher on her head.

"You're not afraid of her?" asked Glenn.

"What big teeth she has," said Warren. "But to answer your question, no way! We've dealt with nastier dogs than her. Heck, most of the creatures at Fablehaven could be considered a bigger threat than a dog, even though we're on good terms with them. Most of them, anyway."

"But these dragons..." said Seth, as they made their way across the yard. "Well, you'll see."

"It's okay, you four," said Bracken, as the group stopped in front of a hedge. "These people know about you. You can reveal yourself."

Raxtus, Geminus, Skyfrost and Firesquall all rose up from the crouching positions they had been in on the other side of the hedge, poising the upper halves of their bodies over the plants.

"Dragons..." gasped Glenn.

"Holy moly!" muttered Luke.

"Glenn and Luke, these four dragons our are friends," said Kendra. "They are Raxtus, Geminus, Skyfrost and Firesquall. "Dragons, this man is Glenn Landry, and his son is Luke."

"Um, hello," said Raxtus, speaking cautiously.

"You can talk?" exclaimed Glenn.

"Can you dragons breathe fire?" asked Luke.

"I can," said Firesquall, as he bent his head upwards, opened his mouth and shot a small burst of flames into the air.

"Amazing," said Glenn. "But try to keep it down. I don't want to attract any attention from my neighbors."

"Can the rest of you breathe fire?" asked Luke.

Raxtus, Geminus and Skyfrost shook their heads.

"Well, Geminus and I can exert light energy in a fiery form," said Raxtus, but it's not actual fire."

"Light energy?" asked Glenn. "But how?"

"We're fairy dragons, Raxtus and I," replied Geminus. "Dragons with fairy attributes. You see, Raxtus is a dragon who was raised by fairies, while I was originally a fairy who voluntarily became a dragon. I'd say we compliment each other well."

"As for me," said Skyfrost, "I'm the twin brother of Firesquall. But I specialize in ice, not fire."

Skyfrost proceeded to shoot a small breath of ice onto a patch of grass, coating it underneath a thin layer of frost.

"Wow," said Luke. "We never get snow here!"

"I must say," said Glenn. "Now that we've gotten to know each other, is there anything else that you would like to discuss?"

"Well, I couldn't help but notice that you had an entire collection devoted to your interest in the magical world," said Warren. "Perhaps you would be so kind as to show us around a bit?"

"Really?" asked Glenn. "_That's_ what you want to see?"

"What's wrong with that?" asked Seth.

"There's nothing _wrong_ with it. It's just that you people are already well acquainted with this world, and my possessions, as informative as they are, are either filled with false information, or won't tell you anything you don't already know."

"Not necessarily," said Warren. "After all, one man's trash is another man's treasure."

Glenn nodded. "I understand. Let's go back inside and I'll show you around some more. How's that sound?"

"That sounds... great," said Bracken.


	9. Dragons R Us

**Chapter 9: Dragons R Us**

"Where are my manners?" said Glenn, as he and Luke led everybody off from the patio and back into the kitchen. "You people are guests in my home, and I haven't done so much as to offer any of you so much as a drink."

"It's okay," said Seth. "We didn't exactly ask for permission to even be on your property."

"Water under the bridge," said Glenn, walking over to the refrigerator. "What do ya'll like to drink? Juice? Soda? Spring water? Or would you prefer something like tea or coffee?"

Although nobody was feeling particularly thirsty, the group all accepted a drink from Glenn. Most of them opted for either juice or soda.

"What were you saying about showing us around a bit more?" asked Warren, as he took a sip of what Glenn claimed was one-hundred percent freshly squeezed tangerine juice.

"I just wanted to show you what I've collected within my library," replied Glenn. "Beyond the library, my house contain anything else that's too extravagant, at least in regards to the world of magical creatures."

"Since there could very well be information contained within your library," said Bright, "I feel that it would be worth checking out."

"I'd be more than happy to share anything that I can with you," said Glenn, as he led the group out of the kitchen and back towards the library.

"You're going to the library _again_?" asked Luke. "Aww, it's so _boring_ in there!"

"I'm sorry, Luke," said Glenn, as he stopped in front of the double doors. "But this has been a huge discovery for the both of us! Why don't you go to the playroom and find something to do?"

"But there's all these cool fairies and dragons that are here! I can play with my toys any time!"

"Warren, we don't all have to go to the library, do we?" asked Ingrid.

"I wouldn't say that it's mandatory," replied Warren.

"Well, what if you adults looked around the library, while the rest of us kept Luke occupied?"

"Sounds fine to me," said Glenn, as he unlocked the doors and stepped inside the library to deactivate the alarm. "Luke, I want you to be on your best behavior for our guests. Us adults may be busy for quite a while."

Luke sighed. "Yes, Dad."

Once Glenn, Warren and the fairies entered the library, they closed the door behind them. Kendra, Seth, Ingrid and Luke were now the only people left standing in the hall. Luke appeared to upset about something, judging from the look on his face.

"Luke, you were just going on about how your father's library is _boring_," said Kendra. "What do you do for fun around here, anyway?"

"You want to see?" asked Luke, whose face immediately lit up. He then proceeded to dash off down the hallway, prompting the three teenagers to chase after him.

"Wait'll you see my playroom," said Luke, as he ran into the large entry hall, made a u-turn and proceeded to scurry up the stairway to the second floor.

The group followed Luke up the stairs and down a hallway, where Luke opened up a door and ran into a room. Once Kendra, Seth and Ingrid stepped foot into the room, they could what all the fuss was about.

The room was _filled_ with toys. Action figures and stuffed animals littered the floor, as did toy vehicles, Lego pieces, a model train set and a whole lot more. Several bookcases where packed either board games, or presumably more toys. At the far end of the room was a large television set surrounded by surround speakers, storage space and a couch.

"Not bad!" said Seth. "I would've loved to have had a bedroom like this growing up."

"Oh, this isn't my bedroom," said Luke. "It's just my playroom. You guys want to play something?

Ingrid winced. "I didn't come here to play with a bunch of toys," she said under her breath.

"What's wrong with my toys?" asked Luke, as he picked up an Optimus Prime figure. "I'm sorry I don't have any _Barbie_ dolls."

"Luke, I'm sure that there's plenty of stuff in this room that could keep us occupied," said Kendra.

"You can use TV," said Luke. "Go watch something girly on Netflix."

"I've got a better idea," said Seth. "Why play with toys, when we can play with... dragons."

"Dragons?" asked Kendra. "Seth, are you sure..."

"The dragons?" asked Luke. "We can really play with them?"

"Is that even okay?" asked Ingrid. "Allowing Luke to, as you guys put it, _play_ with the dragons?"

"Hey, nobody said we couldn't," said Seth. Glenn just told Luke to go play. He never said where or how."

"I want to see the dragons!" exclaimed Luke, as he picked up a dragon figurine. "Please! They were a lot cooler than this dumb thing!"

"Glad you see it my way," said Seth, as he headed back towards the door. "Come on!"

Luke threw down the dragon toy he had been holding and sprinted out of the room, prompting Kendra, Seth and Ingrid to follow him. He then bolted down the stairs, and headed towards the back of the house. From there, he passed through the kitchen, went out onto the patio and continued to rush through the yard.

"Dragons," said Seth, as he and his sisters chased Luke towards the back of the yard. "Come on out!"

The four dragons all emerged from behind the hedge like they had before, and gazed down at the four kids.

"Seth, what is it?" asked Raxtus.

"This is gonna be so cool!" said Luke.

"Would you dragons be interested in going for a little fly-around?" asked Seth.

"I'd be in for it!" said Skyfrost, as he vaulted himself over the hedge, landed next to Seth and lowered his body for Seth to climb on.

"Where's Warren?" asked Firesquall, looking back towards the mansion.

"Inside with the others," replied Kendra.

"Firesquall, why don't you take Luke for a ride?" asked Seth.

"Oh no!" snapped Kendra. "Seth, we are _not_ about to let a young child go for a ride on a dragon without a partner. What if he gets hurt? It'd be very dangerous, and he has no experience riding!"

"That's not true," said Luke. "I've gone horseback riding many times!"

"Dragons are a lot wilder than any horse," said Ingrid. "Although unicorns _are_ pretty high up there. Why don't you ride with me, on Geminus?"

"Which one..."

"I'm Geminus," said the fairy dragon, nodding her head.

"Her?" asked Luke, sounding disappointed. "I have to ride on the girly pink dragon?"

"Geminus is awesome," said Ingrid. "If anything, your attitude reminds me of Murdred."

"What's a Murdred?" asked Luke.

"Murdred is the Demon King we were telling you and your dad about earlier," replied Kendra. "You'd best want nothing to do with him. He hates everything to do with feminism, along holds a lot of other flawed views."

"To put it bluntly," said Seth. "The guy's a dick."

"Language, Seth!" hissed Kendra. "We're with a younger kid! And it's understandable for boys his age to not be into girly things. He probably thinks Ingrid and I have cooties."

"I do not!" snapped Luke. "I'm _not_ stupid."

"Luke, do you want to ride on Skyfrost with me?" asked Seth.

"Seth, it's Luke's first time riding on a dragon. A wyvern might be a bit much. Luke, why don't you ride with me on Raxtus? He's the silver dragon."

"Well, okay," said Luke.

Raxtus, Geminus and Firesquall all hopped over the fence and lowered themselves next to Skyfrost. Kendra helped Luke get up onto Raxtus, while Seth got onto Skyfrost, and Ingrid onto Firesquall.

"Sorry, Firesquall," said Seth, "looks like you'll be flying solo."

"I don't mind so much," said Firesquall. "I've still got all of you."

The dragons then flapped their wings and proceeded to leap up into the air, rising high over the estate.

"Awesome!" cried Luke, who was nestled between Kendra's body and Raxtus' neck. "This is so cool!"

As the dragons soared up into the clouds, everybody gazed down at the city of Houston beneath them, which gradually appeared to be shrinking as they rose higher and higher.

"This is so much fun!" said Luke, as he stuck out his hand and attempted to grab the vapor of a cloud that Raxtus was soaring through, only for it to dissipate upon contact with him.

"Hey, Luke!" shouted Firesquall. "Check this out!"

Firesquall proceed to shoot a stream of fire towards Raxtus, only missing the fairy dragons and his riders by no more than two feet, which was close enough for Kendra to feel the heat. Luke screamed as the fire shot past him.

"Firesquall, don't!" exclaimed Kendra, as the dragons continued to weave in and out of the clouds.

"It's okay, Kendra," said Luke. "That was scary, but fun! It's better than a roller coaster!"

The dragons continued to soar around in the sky for several hours, which seemed to fly by rather hastily due to the fact that everybody was having so much fun. By the time they had gotten tired, the time on Kendra's watch showed that it was now early in the afternoon.

The dragons landed in a field somewhere on the outskirts of the city. Not too far from where they had landed were a few low-rise buildings, including a McDonald's. Once they had landed, Kendra called Warren to tell them were they had gone. Warren explained that he and the others were very busy, and hung up after acknowledging Kendra.

"Can we get McDonald's, please?" asked Luke.

"Sure," said Kendra, thinking back to the time when she had been taken to a McDonald's by Matthew and Ashley. Fortunately, she knew that this time would be nothing like that, as she was with her friends."

"But what about the dragons?" asked Ingrid. "They can't join us!"

"We'll get out takeout," said Seth. "I think that's only fair."

While the dragons waited in the field, Kendra, Seth, Ingrid and Luke walked over to the McDonald's, which was busy due to it being lunch hour. After waiting in line for a few minutes, the kids ordered three combo meals plus a Happy Meal, as well as two dozen cheeseburgers, which netted them an odd look from the cashier.

After they were served, the kids carried all the food back through the field to where the dragons were waiting.

"I wish there was somewhere to sit," said Luke, gazing down at the grass and dirt surrounding them.

"Being part fairy, I've got a little trick for you," said Geminus. She pointed a finger at the ground and pink sparkles shot out of it, producing a large blanket to cover the grass.

"That's cool," said Luke. "I'm sorry about what I said earlier."

As the group proceeded to eat their lunch, Seth couldn't help but notice that the dragons quickly devoured the six cheeseburgers they had each been brought.

"Sorry if your lunch wasn't enough food," said Seth, who still hadn't finished his Big Mac.

"You call that a _lunch_?" asked Skyfrost. "It was barely a snack!"

"It's a good thing you dragons don't need to eat as frequently as us humans," said Kendra.

Once they had finished eating, Luke pulled a toy out from his Happy Meal box and gazed at the unwrapped package it was in.

"What'd you get?" asked Seth.

"I dunno," said Luke. "Some cyborg insect thing. I've got enough toys as it is. And I had way more fun with these dragons than I did with any of them."

"Well don't throw it out," said Ingrid. "Dragons or no dragons, there's lots of kids who would love to have some of the toys that you own."

"I know," said Luke. "We always give toys to charity. But my dad has so much money, he doesn't mind buying me a lot."

"As long as we're here," said Seth. "We can ride around on the dragons a bit more."

"Sweet!" said Luke, as he stood up. "And if it's all right with you, maybe I could ride on Geminis this time?"

"It's okay with me," said Ingrid.

The group got back on the dragons and flew around for several more hours. They flew out and across the countryside, passing over lakes, plains and forests, before making their way back to Houston. With a bit of deductive reason, the dragons found their way back to the backyard of the Landry estate.

"Man, that was so fun!" said Luke, as Ingrid helped him climb down off of Geminus.

"Thanks, you guys," said Kendra, as she got down off of Raxtus.

"Our pleasure," said Raxtus. "It's been a while since we'd gone on such an extended flight with you humans."

"What time is it?" asked Luke.

"It's after five!" cried Seth, as he glanced at his watch. "Come on, let's go back inside."

"Good idea," said Firesquall, as he curled up on the grass. "Us dragons could do with a little break."

The kids headed back inside through the kitchen, then made their way over to the library, the doors of which were closed.

"Dad!" shouted Luke, as he knocked on the doors. "We're back!"

"We're in the den," said Glenn, who's voice was echoing from another nearby room.

Luke led the group through the main hallway and into the den, where his father, Warren and the fairies had all been seated. It was a large, carpeted room with sprawling windows, couches, chairs and a big television set at one end.

"Dad!" shouted Luke, as he ran up to his father. "We had so much fun! We flew around on these dragons all day! It was awesome!"

"I envy you, Luke. Sounds like you really had a great time. However, I do have to say that we made quite a discovery ourselves."

"A discovery?" asked Ingrid. "What do you mean?"

"One of the books that Mr. Landry owns talks about a certain _relic_ of dark origin," said Warren, raising up an old, tattered book.

"Relic of dark origin?" asked Seth. "You think it could be..."

"Here's hoping," said Warren. "We spent all day poring through the texts of the library, but barely made a dent in the grand scheme of things. Most of what we found was either stuff we already knew, dismissible bogus, or stuff we just plain didn't understand.

"But just by chance, I stumbled upon this book," said Clover. "And it intrigued me, the way it talked about a dark relic.

"Is it... one of the five?" asked Seth.

"We don't know," replied Bracken. "The book just explained what it was, not what it did. The good news is, we know where it is."

"Where?" asked Ingrid eagerly.

"In a city in the sky," replied Bright. "At first we thought they were referring to Cloud Canyon, but that place didn't really strike me as a civilized community."

"What's this city in the sky, then?" asked Seth.

"That's where we stopped," replied Warren. "It was just getting so interesting, that we didn't want to unveil more information while you guys weren't around".

"Which we'll do, after dinner," said Glenn. "Now if you don't mind, I ask that you all wash up before we eat."

"What are we having, Dad?" asked Luke. "I didn't see the chef in the kitchen."

"I didn't want to ask ask him over while we had all these guests, so I'm having rotisserie chicken delivered to the house."

Luke led Kendra, Seth and Ingrid over to a washroom, and directed Kendra to go in first. It was a small, though nicely furnished room, with a decorative mirror and stylish lights. After freshening up, Kendra exited and went over to the den.

Once the others all returned to the den, they followed Glenn into the dining room, where a long, empty table was situated in the middle.

"Aww, no," said Glenn. "I forgot to set the table! Normally the chef or somebody does it. But we have all this company and I got so sidetracked! Plus the food'll be here any moment!

"Leave it to me," said Bright, as she stepped into the kitchen.

Everybody watched as Bright unleashed sparkles from her hand which spread throughout the kitchen. Suddenly, cupboards and drawers opened opened up. Plates, silverware and glasses came whizzing out of their storage spaces and flying through the kitchen, over everybody's heads, into the dining room.

"What are you doing?" gasped Glenn.

One of the plates landed on the table directly in front of a chair. Two forks, two spoons and a knife landed perfectly on the sides of the plate, along with a napkin, while the glass landed behind it, effectively creating a place setting. As this was going on, other place setting were being arranged magically as well.

"Incredible," said Glenn. "This truly is amazing, I must say."

At that moment, a chime rang.

"Oh, that's probably the food now," said Glenn, as he made his way into the kitchen. "I have to open the gate and let the man in. The rest of you might as well sit down now. Luke, you come with me."

Glenn and Luke left the room. A moment later, they came back carrying several bags of food, which the placed down on the table. They then proceeded to pull the contents out of the bag, which consisted of several whole rotisserie chickens, a few racks of ribs, salads, fries, biscuits and gravy, and a few dessert pastries.

"This is quite a feast," said Ingrid, as Luke proceeded to pass around some of the packages.

"Think nothing of it," said Glenn. "Drinks are in the kitchen, I'll go grab some."

Glenn stepped into the kitchen and returned carrying a pack of bottled water in one hand, and a jug of juice in the other.

"Glenn, you're spoiling us," said Warren, as Glenn placed the drinks down on the table. "What's the catch?"

"All right," said Glenn, holding up his hands. "You got me. There _is_ something I'd like from all of this."

"What's that?" asked Kendra.

"Well," said Glenn, as he sat down at the head of the table, "I'd like to make a _deal_ with all of you."


	10. Compromise

**Chapter 10 – Compromise**

Everybody at the table who had been visiting from Fablehaven all nearly felt their hearts stop upon hearing Glenn's request.

"I knew it," said Bright, as she let out a small sigh. "I knew that this would be too good to be true."

"What exactly is it that you want from us?" asked Bracken.

"Well you see," began Glenn, "when I went to order dinner, I went did so by going into the other room by myself. However, while I was there, I then used the opportunity to call Mr. Wesley Fairbanks."

"Let me guess," said Seth. "You told him about today's discovery."

Glenn nodded. "He congratulated me on my success. Since he was preoccupied, Wesley was unable to speak for very long. But before he hung up, he _did_ mention that he had a collection of fairies at his home."

"So, what you getting at?" asked Ingrid.

"Well, I was wondering if it would be possible for me to obtain a collecting of fairies for myself."

"You want your own collection of fairies?" gasped Bracken.

"You're speaking to me in a rather discouraging way," noted Glenn. "Are you trying to say that I'm not worthy of hosting a fairy collection? After all, you've told me that there are fairies residing at Fablehaven, and Wesley has told me that fairies reside at his home as well."

"Look," said Bright. "It's just that... you've only just found out the truth about the magical world today! Aren't you just rushing into things? You need to understand fairies and know what they want. What they feel. What they need."

"What do you think I've been doing my whole life? I don't just merely _collect_ the books that are in my collection. I've studied and taken to heart each and every bit of information I could divulge from them."

"You raise a good point," said Clover. "But a fairy society isn't like a zoo. Fairies are sentient creatures. You can't just round up a court of them and throw them into a new dwelling."

"So, how did Wesley go about creating his?" asked Glenn.

"Wesley allocated space for the fairies," replied Warren. "Then he slowly but gradually started to obtain fairies from allies and collectors at a moderate pace."

"I understand. But I feel that I could handle my own collection. Even if it starts off small."

"I dunno..." muttered Bright. "Still seems too sudden."

Glenn momentarily squinted his eyes, then held up a book. It was the same one that spoke of the dark relic.

"I'll make you a deal," said Glenn. "You people seem to be very intrigued by this book. I'd be willing to part with it, under the agreement that you assist me in starting my own fairy collection. Is that fair? Mr. Bracken? Miss Bright?"

Bright and Bracken both looked at each other., then turned to face Glenn.

"Mr. Landry," said Bracken. "Us fairies do not regulate where others of our kind chose to reside. However, it is against our belief to relocate fairies unless its absolutely necessary."

"Fairies are a big responsibility for humans," said Bracken. "And we should not speak on their behalf. You should ultimately consult someone who already has a collection if you want to get anywhere. Like a Knight of the Dawn."

"Well then," said Glenn, as he turned towards Warren. "You seem to be the most mature Knight of the Dawn in the room, plus you live in a shared environment with fairies. Do you think I would be capable of hosting fairies in my home?"

"Well, I don't know," said Warren, "I'd have to consult with Stan about that. What if he doesn't agree?"

"Mr. Burgess. I'm asking for you opinion, and yours alone. If you agree, I'll be more than happy to share my book with you."

"What if he _doesn't_ agree?" asked Seth.

"It wouldn't be very fair to either of us, now would it?" said Glenn, as he lowered the book into his lap.

"This isn't my duty," said Warren. "I'm not a higher-up in the Knights of the Dawn myself. My decision could get overruled."

"Take it or leave it."

Warren sulked. "Fine. Okay. I agree. Give us the book, and I'll see to it that you get your own fairy collection underway."

Glenn extended his hand and waited for Warren to shake it, then smiled. "Thank you! I'm glad that we could come to an agreement."

"Well, I just got myself into a heap of trouble," said Warren, as Glenn presented the book to him. "Stan is going to kill me when he finds out."

"What if Grandpa still says no?" asked Seth.

"He'd better not now," said Warren, as he handed the book over to Kendra. As she opened it up to the first few pages, she could see that the text was in English. However, it was presumably written in another language that her eyes were able to interpret.

"Kendra," said Bright, "no offense, but do you mind not reading that at the dinner table?"

"Sorry," said Kendra, as she placed the book down on the table and slid it to one side.

The meal itself was simply scrumptious. Kendra and Seth savoured every bite that they took, and ate until they were completely filled up. Not surprisingly, once everybody had finished there was still a considerable amount of leftovers.

"I see that you all ate well," said Glenn.

"Now that we're finished," said Ingrid, "can Kendra look at the book now?"

"I suppose so. Although you realize that once you leave, I expect you folks to see to it that a fairy collection is established for me."

Warren winced. "Yeah... I'll do what I can. I promise. But what if, despite my best efforts, I can't fulfil your request?"

"Then I will not be very pleased with your actions. And that does not bode well for me. Sorry, but after coming this far, I refuse to be taken advantage and not have anything to show for it."

_What a grump,_ thought Seth.

The group assisted Glenn and Luke in clearing the table, putting away the empty food and loading the dishes into the dishwasher. Once they had finished, they all ventured into the den, where they sat down on several couches.

Kendra then opened up the book and began to skim through the pages.

"I can't believe this," said Kendra, as she glimpsed the text that was written on each page that she flipped through.

"What does it say?" asked Seth.

"It talks about a relic of demonic origin," said Kendra. "And that it was allegedly seized by angels and taken to a city in the sky."

"What city?" asked Bracken. "We didn't get past that part."

"Says it's a city known as... Wingadoon," said Kendra.

"Wingadoon?" gasped Warren. "That isn't good."

"Why not?" asked Ingrid.

"Wingadoon was an angel city. When the angels all perished, Wingadoon was lost. Explorers have been searching for the path to Wingadoon for eon, but nobody's been able to find it."

"This book might explain how we could get to Wingadoon," said Kendra, as she flipped through several more pages. It seems to talk about the city a fair bit."

"It's been a long day," said Clover. "And it's two hours later back home. Maybe we should get going."

"We'll keep in touch," said Warren. "I promise."

"Understood," said Glenn, as he handed his business card to Warren. "All my contact information is here. Please get back to me in regards to the fairy situation ASAP."

"How are you guys getting home?" asked Luke. "Are you going to ride on the dragons?"

"Dragons are nice," said Seth. "But we've got an even faster way of getting home."

"How's that?"

"You'll see," said Seth, feeling smug.

"Thank you so much for everything," said Warren, as everybody got up and walked toward the rear of the house, making their way out and into the backyard. Soon they had met up again with the dragons, who jumped out from behind the hedges as the humans approached them.

"Are we going now?" asked Geminus.

"Kind of a shame I didn't get to see more of these fabulous creatures while they were," said Glenn, admiring the reptiles who stood before him.

"If all goes well," said Bracken, "perhaps you'll be seeing these dragons again real soon."

"I'm looking forward to it."

"That's what's bothers me," said Warren, as he removed the Translocator from his bag and twisted it.

"What's that?" asked Luke, as the Sorensons, fairies and dragons all made contact with the artifact.

"You'll see," said Ingrid with a smile.

At this point, everybody said goodbye to Glenn and Luke, both of whom appeared to look dumbfounded.

"They can't fly on the dragons like that," said Luke.

Suddenly, the group was hurled through space by the Translocator, and reappeared back on the front lawn at Fablehaven. Thanks to the two hour time difference, the evening sky was noticeably darker here than in Houston.

"We'll see you dragons later," said Seth, as the humans and fairies walked up towards the house.

"Goodnight," said Skyfrost, as he and the other dragons walked in the direction of their cave.

"What about us?" asked Goldenrod.

"We'll deal with you three later," said Bright. "Right now we've got bigger things to worry about."

Shortly after the three fairies flew off, the group entered the house, where they found themselves greeted by Grandpa and Grandma.

"It's been a long day," said Grandma. "Scott and Marla have already gone to bed."

"Warren told me earlier," said Grandpa. "You guys have had quite a day."

"Look," said Warren, "before we get into all the finer details, there's something I need to to tell you, Stan. So I might as well just come out now and say it."

"What's that?"

"See this book?" asked Warren, as Kendra held up the book that they had received from Glenn.

"What about it?" asked Grandpa.

"Well, it belonged to Glenn Landry. It contains some really useful information. But, we kinda had to barter for it. And... long story short... I agreed to let him start a fairy collection."

"You did what?" asked Grandpa.

"I know," said Warren, lowering his head. "What I did was pretty stupid."

"Sounds like something Seth would do," said Kendra, garnering a laugh from Ingrid.

"Shut up, Kendra," said Seth.

"Warren, you just went ahead and agreed to provide to get him started with a fairy collection? Are you out of your mind?"

"I can vouch for Warren's reasoning," said Clover, placing a hand on her husband's shoulder. "Mr. Landry kind of had us over a barrel, so to speak."

"Warren, you had no right to make such a promise," said Grandpa. "I understand your intention, but this sort of decision... Well... It just wasn't in your jurisdiction!"

Grandpa proceeded to march up the stairs to the second floor.

"I can't believe you'd do something so thoughtless," said Grandma, staring at Warren. "You barely even know this man! That book could very easily contain false information!"

Grandma then went upstairs, following after Grandpa.

"They're pretty mad," said Seth.

"They have a point," said Warren. "Listen, it's late. I'm going to head back to my place now. I'm sure that Stan will lambast me like there's no tomorrow. Tomorrow."

"Warren, I'm tired too," said Kendra. "But I'm going to see what I can do about translating that book."

"Thanks," said Warren, giving Kendra a hug.

After Warren and the fairies left, Kendra, Seth and Ingrid all went upstairs and changed into their bed clothes. Kendra then made her way down from the attic to Seth's bedroom, where she knocked on the door.

"Come in," came Seth's voice from the other side.

"Seth, I really want to use your computer," said Kendra, as she entered the room, where Seth was lying on his bed. "I know it's been a long day, but I really want to translate this book already."

"Knock yourself out," said Seth, as he reached into his nightstand and pulled out a sleeping mask and ear plugs. "Just try not to be too loud."

"Thank you," said Kendra, as she made her way over to the desk and switched on the computer.

Kendra wasted no time in opening up a word processing program. She then placed the book down next to the keyboard, opened it to the first page and proceeded to type away, copying what she was interpreting as English onto the computer, word-for-word.

The book itself wasn't terribly thick. Probably less than one-hundred pages. The words had all been written by hand, so there weren't as many per page as she usually found in a printed novel.

Although she was copying out the book word for word, Kendra did not stop and take any time to actually comprehend what she was interpreting. Some of it seemed irrelevant, but she was certain that much of it, if it was actually true, could prove to be very important.

Before long, Seth had turned on his bedside lamp, and was presumably now trying to fall asleep. Although she did not require it, the computer monitor was now the only thing in the room that was proving any source of light.

Too tired to really concern herself with what she was even translating, Kendra pressed onward through the book, until she had translated the final page. Although he had gone through every last page, Kendra did not stop to absorb very much of what she had actually read.

Once she finished, Kendra saved her document, closed the program and prepared to shut down the computer. Before the computer powered itself off, Kendra saw that according to the clock on the taskbar, the present time was 12:39 AM.

With the computer now off, Kendra made her way out of Seth's room, where her brother had already fallen asleep in his bed. She then headed back upstairs to her own bedroom, where it did not take long for her to fall asleep either.

The following morning, Kendra awoke, freshened up and changed into new clothes, then made her way down to Seth's bedroom, which was currently empty. She wasted no time in booting up the computer and opening up the document that she had prepared earlier. She then opted to print the document, which she would have done beforehand, had she not been so tired. Also, Kendra figured that she would've only irritated Seth if she were to have used his printer in the middle of the night and woken him up.

Once the document finished printing, Kendra gathered the pages together and brought them downstairs to the dining room, where most of the family was already sitting at the table, in the middle of breakfast. Noticeably, Warren and Clover were not present.

"Grandpa," said Kendra, as she walked up to her grandfather and handed the pages she had been holding to him. "I translated the entire book last night. Please read this."

"That whole book?" asked Grandpa, as he straightened the pages within his hands. "Kendra, I appreciate the effort, but you were under no obligation to do such a thing."

Grandpa pushed his newspaper to the side and set the pages down next to his place setting. He then picked up the first page and proceeded to start reading it.

"So," said Ingrid, as Kendra sat down next to her, "what did the book say?"

"I'm not sure," replied Kendra, "which is strange, because I read every last word that was in it. Something about the relic being discovered and taken to Wingadoon for safekeeping. It spoke about how we can get there, but it says that we need an angel."

"Not a problem," said Seth. "We've got fairy angels on our side."

"It probably meant _actual_ angels," said Dale. "And as far as anybody knows, they're all extinct."

Several minutes later, Warren and Clover entered the house and made their way to the dining room. Warren looked rather glum, as he pulled out his seat and slunk down into it.

"Hey, Warren," said Ingrid.

"Hey," said Warren, sounding rather unmotivated.

"Warren," said Kendra. "I know you're not in a good mood. But guess what! I translated the entire book last night! Grandpa's reading it right now!"

"That's nice," said Warren, pouring himself a glass of orange juice.

"I might as well speak on Warren's behalf," said Clover, as she cleared her throat. "How should we go about setting up a fairy collection for Mr. Landry? Should we see about recruiting a few fairies from Fablehaven, or perhaps the Fairy Kingdom?"

"Warren," said Ruth, expressing a perturbed look on her face, "for getting us into this situation, I believe that my husband has something to say to you."

"You bet I do," said Grandpa, who had now read through several pages of the document, which he set down on the table. "He then turned directly towards Warren. Ensign Burgess, for your unauthorized decision making yesterday, which not only involved agreeing to a contact that you as an individual were unable to fulfil, but to an individual we don't even know is trustworthy, I ask that you hand in your badge."

"My... my badge?" gasped Warren. "My knighthood badge?"

"That's my final order. And yours too, Ensign Burgess."

"You're revoking Warren's membership?" blurted Seth. "Grandpa no!"

"Seth..." said Warren, shaking his head. "There's no use arguing."

Warren pulled out his wallet and removed his badge. A silver emblem shaped like a sun, the center sported a coat of arms with two unicorns. _Knights of the Dawn _was embedded above the coat of arms, while _Ensign_ was underneath. Kendra and Seth also had badges that looked the same, except that their ranks were both Cadets.

"You won''t be needing this anymore," said "Grandpa, accepting the badge.

"I'm sorry," said Warren.

"You don't need to apologize. What you _will_ need is a new badge, _Lieutenant_ Burgess."

"Lieutenant?" asked Warren, as the face of everybody at the table lit up.

"Warren, you really took the initiative last night. And for that I'm proud of you. Even if this book turns out to be worthless, you listened to your heart and took charge for the greater good. A fairy collection, like the ones that the Fairbanks have, isn't a huge ordeal anyway. And with what all you've gone through regarding the Landrys, I too feel that they may be trustworthy. I even had a long phone call with Glenn before going to bed last night."

"Stan," said Warren, as he got out of his chair and walked over to Grandpa. "I'm a lieutenant now. Thank you!"

Warren then gave Grandpa a hug.

"I know that the ranking system in the Knights of the Dawn has never been a huge deal, especially now since we are no longer are dealing with the Society. But ever since we lost Dougan, I've been looking for someone to fill his shoes. Guess I didn't have to look very far after all."

"I'm very grateful right now," said Warren. "But what I'm even more interested in right now, is finding out what's been written in that book."


	11. Deduction

**Chapter 11: Deduction**

After breakfast was finished, Grandpa took the notes that Kendra had printed up and headed into his study alone. Presumably, he was going to read them without having anyone else around to distract him.

Kendra, Seth and Ingrid had all moved into the living room, where they were sitting around, waiting for Grandpa to come up with his own verdict. A fair bit of time had already passed before long.

"This is kinda tricky," said Seth. "If Grandpa goes over those notes and deduces that we've got no way of finding Wingadoon, what are we supposed to do?"

"I don't know," said Ingrid. "It sounds like it'd be a huge loss."

"I should've payed more attention to what I was translating," said Kendra. "We'd probably know the true answer by now."

"But Grandpa knows more than you," said Seth. "You probably did what was best."

"Let's say we can't make it to Wingadoon," said Ingrid. "What happens then?"

"Well, if the relic actually _is_ there," replied Kendra, "then we'd be unable to retrieve it."

"And if the relic that's in Wingadoon happens to be the Necromaster," said Seth, "then our chance of finally stopping Murdred will be lost."

"It doesn't sound too good for us, either," noted Kendra. "If only angels can reach Wingadoon, then the city is as good as lost, even if we have directions to it."

"You're telling me that there's absolutely, positively no other way to reach Wingadoon?" asked Seth.

"I don't know for sure," replied Kendra. "There's a lot I don't know about that city. But if what Warren claimed is true, then perhaps there really is no way for outsiders to access Wingadoon. People have been trying to locate it for years, with no apparent success."

"What if Wingadoon is a trap?" asked Ingrid.

"What do you mean?" asked Kendra. "Like a hoax?"

"Not necessarily. The city could very well be real. But what if for who-knows-why it's impossible to leave Wingadoon? Say people are able to reach the city, but are incapable of leaving. If we went there, we could be trapped."

"Or killed," said Seth. "Perhaps the Necromaster _is_ in fact the relic that's in Wingadoon. Somebody there could be using it to easily kill all who set foot in the city."

"I don't recall the book saying anything about the city being some sort of deathtrap," said Kendra.

"Oh yes," said Seth. "The book. Anything that's written in there has gotta be true! Nobody in the past ever lied about anything!"

"This book was written in fairy-like runes. It's not in their nature to intentionally document a book with falsehoods."

Ingrid laughed. "A lot of stuff was recorded in the olden days. Not all of it was true, simply because it was later proven to be wrong. Like people thinking that the Earth was flat."

"This is different," said Kendra. "I can't explain it. But I just got this _feeling_ inside of me when I was going through the book."

At that moment, Warren entered the room wearing a proud smile.

"Why the long faces?" he asked.

"We're unsure about this whole Wingadoon thing," said Seth. "What if it turns out that we can't get there, despite our best efforts?"

"Well, it would be pretty disappointing. Good news is we still have our vacation in Hawaii that we can continue if this whole thing goes belly-up."

"Warren, how do we move up in the Knights of the Dawn?" asked Ingrid. "I recently started as a cadet, which is what Kendra and Seth are."

"Hold the phone," said Warren, holding up his hands. "Rank is earned through responsibility, experience and wisdom. Kendra and Seth have more than their fair share of experience, but responsibility and wisdom, those are things that they just have to develop as they mature. But since most members are over eighteen, I'd say you three have already gotten a huge head start."

"Yeah," said Ingrid, as she removed her badge from her wallet. "I just wish I could do more like Kendra and Seth. They've got such cool powers. And I know that you've been training me. But I'll never be like them."

"Ingrid," said Seth, placing his hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. You'll be fantastic some day."

"Not like you guys," said Ingrid. "I know I'm more than capable, but it just isn't the same. I could never have translated that book like Kendra did."

"Nobody's perfect," said Kendra. "Just because I have the ability to interpret the book doesn't mean that I'm flawless."

"I doubt I could've translated that whole book," said Seth. "Even if I could have the ability to actually read it.."

"Why not?" asked Ingrid.

"I have ADHD. Unless it was super interesting, I could never sit down and type up that entire book the way Kendra did."

"Translating that entire book so quickly is pretty impressive," said Warren. "I bet it was full of strange names that the spellchecker didn't agree with."

"Agreed," said Ingrid. "How'd you do it, Kendra?"

"NERD!" blurted Seth.

Kendra sighed. "You see, I have Asperger Syndrome. I'm pretty good at intellectual stuff, but I don't always entirely understand social cues. Or bratty brothers. But I've learned to at least cope with it."

"And I've got a learning disability," said Warren. "But with a bit of guidance, I still made it through school."

Before long, Grandpa entered the room, holding the document in his hand.

"Grandpa!" exclaimed Kendra. "Did you read over that entire document?"

"More or less," said Grandpa. "And I have some great news. You may be able to make it to Wingadoon after all."

"We can?" asked Ingrid. "But how? Was that angel thing not entirely true?"

"Not exactly," said Grandpa. "While it did state that the city of Wingadoon will only reveal itself to angels, there's more to it than that. You see, Wingadoon is not only a city of angels, but a city for pegasi as well. They're just as welcome in Wingadoon as angels are."

"And we actually have a pegasus on our side," said Ingrid. "Windshear!"

"Are you saying that Windshear can help us reach Wingadoon?" asked Kendra.

"I can't be positive," said Grandpa. "I'm just making an assumption here. But pegasi are close to angels, much akin to how unicorn correlate to fairies. So presumably, Wingadoon should reveal itself to Windshear."

"But what if it doesn't?" asked Warren. "Sorry to be a wet blanket, but nobody has had contact with Wingadoon in forever. What if for some reason the city doesn't reveal itself, even for Windshear? If the city's been lost, so could the magic that protects it."

"It's at least worth looking for," said Ingrid.

"And we do have the coordinates, courtesy of the book," said Grandpa. "However, I believe that bringing Windshear along with you will be a necessity. He'll be your key to the city."

"We might as well go recruit him," said Warren. "Or we'll never get to Wingadoon."

Kendra, Seth, Ingrid and Warren all got up and made their way out of the house, where they proceeded to gaze around the property.

"Where is Windshear?" asked Ingrid.

"He can't be too far," said Warren. "Even though Windshear can fly, he and Stargleam are only allowed around the yard and the path leading up to my place."

"He's probably resting under that big apple tree with Stargleam," said Kendra. "That's usually their favorite spot."

The group went around to the back of the house, and over towards a large tree that was in the opposite direction from the dragons' lair. Due to the fact that it was currently June, the apples on the tree had only just recently started to bloom. A gala tree, the current fruits were small, green and far from being ripe.

Surely enough, both Windshear and Stargleam were resting next to the trunk of the tree, basking in the shade that it was providing. As the group approached the couple, the two equines gazed up at them.

"Hey guys," said Kendra, once the group stopped shortly in front of the magical horses.

"Good morning," said Stargleam. "We heard you came back because of a big discovery. Is that true?"

"Sure is," said Warren. "It was a quite an ordeal, and we'd love to tell you the unabridged version someday. But to cut to the chase, we have a lead to the city of Wingadoon. It's where the next relic is said to lie."

"Wingadoon?" gasped Windshear, as his face suddenly lit up. "You're not serious, are you?"

"You're familiar with Wingadoon?" asked Seth.

"I used to have family who lived there. But after I got imprisoned in the Demon Domain, I never saw them again. And after being rescued, I was informed that all other pegasi had been hunted to extinction, further suggesting that even Wingadoon had been abandoned."

"Have you been to Wingadoon?" asked Ingrid. "Ever?"

"No. My ancestors had migrated to Earth's surface several generations before I was born. I never did travel to Wingadoon, since I was too young to travel there before getting captured."

"You're in luck," said Warren. "We just so happen to have directions that will lead us to Wingadoon. However, without the help of an angel or pegasus, we have no way of actually accessing the city. So, we kinda need your help on this one."

"You want me to fly to Wingadoon?" asked Windshear.

Kendra, Seth, Ingrid and Warren all nodded.

"Absolutely not," said Stargleam, causing the four humans to drop their jaws is dismay.

"What do you mean?" asked Seth. "Windshear, this is you we're taking about, not Stargleam."

"I agree with her," said the pegasus. "I do not wish to travel to Wingadoon."

"Windshear, what are you getting at?" asked Ingrid. "Why won't you come with us to Wingadoon?"

"I don't get ?" said Kendra. "Don't you want to travel to your ancestral home?"

"I'd rather not," stated Windshear, as he stood and up turned away from the group.

"Please!" said Seth. "As far as we know, you're our only way of reaching Wingadoon."

"If I were you, Windshear, I'd be thrilled to be able to go," said Ingrid.

Windshear shook his head. "If something caused the rest of my species to become extinct, what makes you think that travelling to Wingadoon would be a good idea?"

"Windshear, it's been theorized that pegasi and angels may be extinct on Earth," said Warren. "But nobody knows for sure just what remains in Wingadoon."

"Then why hasn't there been any known activity stemming from Wingadoon in recent times?" asked Stargleam. What if the city's been abandoned, or has been taken over by invaders?"

"We don't know what could've happened," replied Warren. "But Windshear, you almost sound like you're afraid to travel to Wingadoon. Why is that?"

"Maybe he's afraid of seeing the remains of his fellow pegasi," said Seth. "I mean, what if they really had been massacred or something?"

"That's partially why," said Windshear.

Kendra shook her head. "Why is everybody just jumping to conclusions here? If we don't know for sure what actually happened, then why are we even pretending that we do?"

"Kendra," said Stargleam, "With the exception of Windshear himself, pegasi are presumably extinct. And normal unicorns, such as myself, are also next to non-existent."

"What are you getting at?" asked Seth.

"Do you know why there's so few of us left?" asked Windshear.

"We know," said Ingrid. "Hunting."

"And do you know how people were able to hunt us?"

"With weapons?" asked Seth.

Stargleam and Windshear both shook their heads. "There's more to it than that," said the unicorn. "We were hunted because we strayed from the safety of our homes. We ventured off to places where we could be found by humans, and we paid dearly for our mistakes."

"It's also how we got captured," said Windshear. "The monsters from the Demon Domain that captured us. They were able to capture us because they were able to find us. Being a prisoner in the Demon Domain was horrible. And for so long, too. It was almost worse than death in some regard."

"If you hadn't have found us, Kendra, we'd still be rotting away in that awful dungeon," said Stargleam. "We don't ever want to leave the safety that Fablehaven provides us."

"You're worried that if you leave Fablehaven, you'll expose yourself and risk getting caught again?" asked Ingrid.

"Or killed," noted Windshear.

"It won't be like that again," said Warren. "I promise. You won't be alone. You'll have us, the dragons and a few fairies on your side. And we've all survived."

"What about Elise?" asked Stargleam. "Or the human Vanessa? Or the Fairy Queen? Or even you, Warren? Because of your stupid adventures, you were an albino for two years, got trapped in the knapsack, and were brutally wounded several times."

"Our _stupid adventures_ led us to you two, didn't they?" asked Warren, glaring at Stargleam and Windshear. "If not for them, you'd still be Murdred's prisoner."

Both Stargleam and Windshear sulked upon hearing Warren's remark.

"There's more to it than that," said Kendra. "The main reason we even want to travel to Wingadoon is because of the chance that one of the relics may be there."

"Possibly the Necromaster," said Seth. "If we had it, we could finally destroy Murdred once and for all."

"If Murdred was destroyed..." said Stargleam, "then no more creatures would ever suffer the same fate that we did."

"Are you sure it's the Necromaster that's in Wingadoon?" asked Windshear. "And not one of the other relics?"

"Well, no," said Kendra. "The book never went into any real detail regarding the relic itself. Only that it was relocated to Wingadoon."

"At this rate," said Ingrid, "there's a one-in-three chance that the Necromaster is the relic that's in Wingadoon."

"True," said Seth. "We've already got the Sapphazure and the Emerock. That just leaves the Necromaster, the Diavolt and the Pyruby. So of the three, one of them is in Wingadoon."

"A thirty-three point three percent chance of this relic being the Necromaster," said Warren. "That's been our best chance yet."

"Course if it's not," said Seth. "Our odds for the next one will go up to fifty percent."

"Either way," said Windshear. "If this relic doesn't turn out to be the Necromaster, what then?"

"Or what if there is no relic at all?" added Stargleam. "We'll have gone through all that trouble for nothing."

"Wouldn't be the first time we went after a treasure that wasn't where we thought it would be," said Warren. "There Chronometer wasn't at Lost Mesa, and the Accelerizer wasn't in Labrador Labyrinth."

"Look," said Kendra, turning to face Stargleam and Windshear. "There may very well be a chance that this whole thing is wrong. But what if it isn't? We've already managed to find two of the relics so far going solely on information we stumbled across."

"But those were the wrong relics," noted Seth. "The Sapphazure was found where the Necromaster supposedly was. And the Emerock was were we thought the Diavolt would be."

"Hey, at least we didn't come up empty-handed," said Kendra, wearing a nervous grin. She got the feeling that Seth's remark might have discouraged Windshear from actually helping them. "A relic's a relic after all."

"If it's not the Necromaster, how will it help in defeating Murdred?" asked Stargleam. "It sounds way too risky."

Kendra winced. Why were Windshear and Stargleam being so difficult? She had to think of something.

"Listen to me!" she shouted. "Okay! We have no idea what we're getting into. We may not find a relic, the city of Wingadoon, or anything at all. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't even try! Windshear, you're the only one we know who actually has a chance of revealing Wingadoon. You can't pass up that opportunity to help all of us! And don't be afraid. You won't be alone like when you were abducted. You'll have plenty of support backing you up."

"Windshear sighed. "It's asking a lot."

"Please consider. I know that you're not related to fairies like a unicorn, and that I do not possess the power to order you around like I could with one of them. But even if I could, I would never abuse my power like that. This is something you need to decide. I'm asking you from my heart. Please come with us."

Before Windshear could respond, Kendra walked up to the pegasus and planted a kiss on his cheek. As her lips made contact with Windshear's purple fur, Kendra could feel magic flowing out through her mouth and into his warm, glowing body.

"A kiss!" snapped Seth, as Kendra backed away from Windshear. "You just said you wouldn't take advantage of your power!"

"All my kiss could've done was overwhelm darkness and make him happy," said Kendra. "Windshear still has control of his free will."

Windshear shook his head, then let out another sigh. "Okay. You win. I'll go with you Wingadoon."

"You will?" asked Ingrid. "That's great!"

"Awesome!" said Seth. "Although I still say you cheated, Kendra."

"I was undecided," said Windshear. "But I think that kiss was just what I needed. I was feeling so depressed getting into my history and lost family, but that kiss made me feel a whole lot better inside. And since I know that you need my help, I'd feel even worse if I chose not to help you."

"Thank you," said Warren, rubbing his hand above Windshear's muzzle. "This mission means a lot to us."

"It means a lot to me too," said Windshear. "Real or not, I want to find out about Wingadoon, even if we don't get the Necromaster out of it."

"Well then," said Ingrid. "What now?"

"I think we're all set," replied Warren. "As soon as we make preparations, we can set out to search for Wingadoon!"


	12. The Path to Wingadoon

**Chapter 12: The Path to Wingadoon**

Now that the group had managed to recruit the assistance of Windshear, they were at long last ready to set off in search of Wingadoon. Or so they were hoping, for none of them knew for sure just what they would discover on the journey that lay ahead of them.

Once they had packed up all of their gear and equipment into their bags, the entire household met up in the yard, where Windshear, Stargleam and the dragon family were waiting for them.

Kendra looked around at everyone who had gathered in the yard. She could tell that they were just as nervous as she was, because nobody was saying a word.

"So, is this it?" asked Geminus.

"I think so," replied Warren. "We seem to have everything we'd normally take on an expedition such as this."

"I've checked them all over," said Dale. "The dragons and Windshear all appear to be in prime condition. I take it you folks are A-Okay?"

"Aside from feeling nervous from all this tension, I seem to be just fine," said Ingrid. She then reached behind her shoulder and grasped the hilt of her sword.

This sword was the weapon Ingrid had received from Warren only weeks ago. Warren had given her a few basic lessons on how to use it, and she wasn't half bad. She could no doubt hold her own, provided her foe wasn't a master swordsman. Nevertheless, Kendra knew that Ingrid had the rest of her team on her side should something go wrong.

"Please be careful," said Stargleam, as she and Windshear rubbed their muzzles together.

"I promise we'll take good care of Windshear," said Warren.

"We'll surround Windshear on all sides," said Firesquall. "It'll be just like a... a..."

"A procession?" said Kendra.

"Yeah," said Skyfrost. "One of those. Er... give us a break. We don't understand a whole lot of English words."

"It's okay," said Seth, as he climbed up onto his wyvern's backside. "If any nasties come anywhere near Windshear, Skyfrost will freeze them to their bones, and they'll go plummeting to the ground far below, won't you Skyfrost?'

Seth then rubbed the palm of his hand between the horns on Skyfrost's scalp. The wyvern seemed to enjoy it, and while he possessed rough, scaly skin, Seth didn't mind it either.

"Not necessarily," said Grandpa. "They may fall, but it won't be to the ground."

"What do you mean?" asked Ingrid.

"Wingadoon is over the Atlantic Ocean."

"So they'll fall into the sea," said Firesquall, whom Warren had now climbed atop of. "Which, come to think of it, is something I too could do without."

"The Atlantic Ocean is such a huge place," said Ingrid. "How're we ever going to find Wingadoon?"

"We have the coordinates," said Warren, holding up several pieces of paper. "According to the book, Wingadoon is in the sky over the Atlantic Ocean, roughly somewhere between the east coast of Canada and Ireland.

"Do be careful," said Stargleam. "If anything were to happen to Windshear..."

"Stargleam," said the pegasus. "I'll be okay. I trust these people."

"I know. But what if something were to go wrong?"

"We can't guarantee that things will go smoothly," said Seth. "But we're packing a lot of arsenal. And if the going gets tough, we can always make a clean getaway using the Translocator."

Bracken held up his hand. "On behalf of the royal fairy family, I promise that all of us will do the best we can to ensure Windshear's safety. We'll all give it one-hundred percent.

"Thank you," said Windshear. "If I'm indeed the last of my kind, we can't afford to let anything happen to me."

"Understood," said Bright. "Us unicorns care about pegasi as if they were one of our own.

Bright and Bracken nodded, then they both disappeared in puffs of rainbow sparkles. Likewise, Clover disappeared immediately after them.

"Where are _they_ going?" asked Stargleam.

"They're conserving their magic," said Kendra. "Don't worry, they're still with us."

"I guess this is it," said Warren. "Get ready for takeoff, everybody!"

"Good luck!" said Mrs. Sorenson.

"Take care!" said Grandma.

"And you take good care of Vanessa!" said Geminus.

"She's in good hands," said Dale, who was currently holding on to the purple hatchling in his arms and displaying a proud smile.

"Dragons," said Warren. Wings up!"

Raxtus, Geminus, Skyfrost and Firesquall all raised their wing upwards.

"Uh, you too, Windshear."

"Oh, sorry," said the pegasus, as he extended his feathery wings outwards.

"Let's go!" said Warren, as Firesquall shot up into the air like a rocket, while Skyfrost, Raxtus, Geminus and Windshear all followed their lead.

Not wanting to be left in the dust, Seth leaned forward, so that his face was up against Skyfrost's head.

"Come on, Skyfrost," said Seth. "Are you gonna let your brother beat you, or will you show him who's really king of the skies?"

"It's on!" snapped Skyfrost, as he allowed himself to gain moment. Wind blazed past Seth's face as his wyvern friend soared upwards towards where Firesquall currently was.

As Skyfrost and Seth neared in on Firesquall, the green wyvern turned his head back and looked at the incoming allies who were zeroing in on him,

Warren turned his head back at them well. He said something, but was too far off for Seth to hear.

Just before Skyfrost could catch up with his brother, the icy dragon came to an abrupt halt, as did Firesquall.

"Skyfrost, what's going on?" asked Seth.

"I can't... move!" blurted Skyfrost. Although he was still airborne, he appeared to be completely motionless, as though he was frozen in both space and time. "It's like I'm frozen. But not the _good_ kind of frozen."

"What gives?" asked Firesquall.

"What are you guys _doing_?" asked Warren.

"That's a good question," said Geminus, as she approached Seth, Warren and their wyverns, accompanied by the rest of the group. "I took the liberty of restraining you with my magic."

"So _that's_ why we can't move." moaned Skyfrost.

"Release them," said Raxtus. "We can't afford to exhaust too much of our power."

"Done," said Geminus. Skyfrost and Firesquall resumed the flapping of their wings, but now remained in one spot as they continued to fly alongside the others.

"What's the big deal?" asked Firesquall. "It's not our fault you guys are slow."

"Yeah, I though you said you were fast, Windshear." said Skyfrost.

"That was a long time ago," said the pegasus. "This is my first time out of Fablehaven. I haven't flown freely since before I was taken to the Demon Domain. I'm horribly out of practice when it comes to flying. Especially over long distances."

"You two have a duty, anyway," said Raxtus. "You are to fly alongside Windshear and keep him protected for the entire journey."

"Oh, come on!" moaned Firesquall. "Have you seen anything up here so far? Most of the skies are empty!"

"We can't have you shirking your duty," said Raxtus. "Isn't that right, Warren?"

Warren winced. "I didn't tell Firesquall and Skyfrost to have a race. But, it was kind of fun once it started. But, your parents have a point, you two. We agreed to keep Windshear protected, and we need to keep at his pace. Besides, we'll never get to Wingadoon without him."

"Oh, fine," said Skyfrost.

"Look at it this way," said Ingrid. "You two have the strongest built-in weapons out of any of us. You get to be bodyguards!"

"Bodyguards?" asked Firesquall. "If there's nobody to guard Windshear from, I'd rather just race. But... I guess that wouldn't be so bad."

"You sure you can't fly any faster, Windshear?" asked Skyfrost.

"Guys, don't rush him," said Kendra.

"How far from here is Wingadoon supposed to be?" asked Ingrid.

"Well, we just left home," said Warren. "And at the rate we're flying, we'll probably be there in... oh I'd say maybe three hours."

"Three hours?" asked Skyfrost. "Firesquall and I could do it in half the time!"

"You will not," said Raxtus. "Now you two will respect your elders and stay with us."

"How 'bout we tow you?" asked Firesquall.

"No," said Warren. "We need to go at a fair pace for everyone."

"I was wondering," said Ingrid. "Why are the wyverns so eager to go fast?"

"They're young," replied Geminus. "And they have a lot of energy."

"It's not only that," added Raxtus. "But wyverns are very fast fliers. Even at their fastest, more typical dragons such as Geminus or I could never keep up with them."

"I wager I could fly faster than Raxtus or Geminus," said Windshear. "If I could get my body into better shape, that is. But keeping up with the wyverns, that's just asking too much."

"I hope this flight isn't too long for you, Windshear," said Warren. "Will you be okay?"

"I sure hope so," replied the pegasus. "I've flown around the preserve quite a bit, but I never made any effort to push myself to the limit."

"Can we please tow him?" asked Skyfrost.

"For the last time, no!" blurted Raxtus.

The procession flew alongside Windshear for a fair amount of time, making their way across the clouds. Once the sky became clear, they could see the Atlantic Ocean, the surface of which was thousands of feet beneath their own.

"Hey, Seth," said Skyfrost. "Would you jump from this height into the ocean?"

"Uh, no," said Seth. "Don't get any ideas."

"Seth, you're my friend," said Skyfrost. "But this slow flying really is getting to me."

"I'm just gonna close my eyes and continue in a straight line," said Firesquall, as he shut his eyelids. "Warren, let me know when I need to change course."

"Why are those irresponsible _boys_ even riding those immature wyverns?" asked Ingrid.

"I'm kidding," said Firesquall, his eyes now open again.

"To answer your question, Ingrid," said Kendra, "I can't give you a straight answer. But they do have chemistry. My brother and Warren are both really... well... kinda... hyper. So the overactive wyverns are actually a good fit for them. But you and I, Ingrid. I feel we're both calmer and more reserved. The fairy dragons suit us rather well."

"Still," said Ingrid. "Boys..."

"You shouldn't say that," said Raxtus.

"Sorry, Raxtus. You're different,"

"Listen. I've received a lot of undeserved flack for being a fairy dragon. I don't like it when people typecast others. Typecasting is what made Murdred who he is today."

"You have a point," said Ingrid. "But still, I'm _nothing_ like Murdred."

The group continued flying across the sky, for what felt like a longer flight than it should have been. Because Wingadoon would presumably only reveal itself to angels and pegasi, the rest of the group had no idea as to when exactly they would stumble upon Wingadoon, or if they were even travelling in the proper direction.

"I sure hope we're going to the correct place," said Ingrid. "Feels like there's nothing but open sky in every direction."

"Well, we're still on track for the coordinates that were in the book," said Warren. "So there's no need cry foul. Yet."

"How much further, then?" asked Seth. "It feels like we've been flying forever!"

"Actually," said Warren, going over his notes. "Wingadoon should be very close to our current position."

"If Wingadoon's such a huge city," said Ingrid. "Don't you think we'd notice it, even if we can't see it?"

"It must be protected by a powerful distractor spell," said Raxtus. "Even fairy creatures like us, or someone like Kendra would be incapable of seeing it."

"I see it!" blurted Windshear. "I really see it!"

Everybody looked forward, where they saw a massive thunderhead ahead of them. If Kendra were to harbor a guess, it was probably several miles wide.

"I don't see it," said Seth. "Just a huge cloud."

"Me neither," added Kendra. "But if Windshear can see it, we can't let the illusion fool us. Let's continue into the thunderhead!"

The group flew into the thunderhead. The fog was so thick and dense, Kendra and Seth could barely see the end of their noses.

"Where is everybody?" asked Ingrid. "I can't see a thing!"

"Everybody slow down!" exclaimed Geminus, prompting the group to come to a halt. "Okay, Windshear. You're the only one of us who can see what's going on. Where do we go?"

"I don't know," replied Windshear. "It's like this city is nothing but a huge cloud."

"It can't just be a huge cloud," said Raxtus. "You sounded really excited before we flew in here. What caught your attention?"

"Before we flew in," said Windshear, "there were these gates just outside the cloud."

"I didn't see no gates," said Seth.

"Of course you didn't," retorted Kendra.

"The entrance to Wingadoon," said Warren. "Come on, let's back up and try this again."

The group all turned around and flew back out of the thunderhead into the open sky. They then returned to facing forward, where the massive thunderhead stood before them.

"There they are," said Windshear. "Down there, a bit to the right."

"None of us can really see anything," said Kendra, who could see nothing but the gaseous cloud in front of her.

"Follow me," said Windshear, as he flew down into the thunderhead.

"This is weird," said Seth. "Sure hope Windshear knows what he's getting us into."

The others all following along behind him, Windshear flew up to the edge of the thunderhead. He then landed on what appeared to be an invisible platform, then tucked in his wings.

Suddenly, the platform that Windshear was standing on became visible. Constructed out of white bricks with a rounded front, the small platform had a large gate at its back end.

"Incredible," said Kendra, once Raxtus came in for a landing next to Windshear. "It's here. Wingadoon is really here!"

"Is it really?" asked Seth, as he got down from off of Skyfrost. "All I see is a gate with more clouds behind it."

The group looked over at the gate. Roughly twenty feet high, the closed gate had been constructed out of golden bars. Oddly, the doors did not appear to be attached to anything. At that moment, Bright, Bracken and Clover all appeared alongside the group.

"I guess if we can get these doors open, the city of Wingadoon will reveal itself to us," said Bright.

"So how do we open these doors?" asked Seth. "I don't see a keyhole anywhere."

"The book said that the city will only open itself up to a proper resident," said Warren.

"Well, what do I have to do?" asked Windshear.

"Open the doors?" said Clover.

"How?

"Pull them open?" asked Ingrid.

"I've got no hands," said Windshear.

"Maybe it opens inwards," said Warren. "At least do something!"

"Fine," said Windshear, as he walked up to the gate and proceeded to push against the bars. The doors did not budge. He even placed a leg around one of the bars and attempted to pull the door open, but to no avail.

"Maybe there's another way," said Windshear.

"Perhaps if we say the magic word," said Seth. "Open sesame!"

"Please, Seth," said Bracken.

"Alakazam! Hocus pocus! Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo! Please?"

"Check the notes again, Warren," said Firesquall, folding his wings together. "I didn't come all this way for nothing."

"It just says that the city will open to a proper resident," said Warren, thumbing through his notes. It doesn't say anything about how."

"Forcing the doors won't do any good," said Bracken. "They're magic. We need special angel magic of our own to deal with them. And only Windshear here is capable of such a feat."

"Look, I wish I could help, but I can't," said Windshear. "But I've never been here before! This city's just going to stay lost."

At this point, Windshear started to cry.

"I really wanted to help. I have to know what lies beyond this gate, I just have to! But the method for getting into the city is lost! It's not fair! This may be my only chance!"

"Windshear," said Kendra, stroking the pegasus' mane with her hand. "We'll think of something, Maybe Mr. Landry has more information on Wingadoon in his library."

"It's not so bad," said Ingrid. "Now that we've made it this far, we can come and go as we please using the Translocator."

"What about the Skullifier?" asked Seth. "We never use it."

"It's very dangerous," said Warren. "Stan is strongly adverse to us using it. I don't know if he'd be willing to comply, even for this."

"What's the use?" asked Windshear. "I just want to get inside more than anything! But these lousy won't even so much as open!"

Suddenly, the sound of metal squeaking drew everybody's attention to the gate. The doors had inexplicably come to life, and magically sprung open.

"You did it!" exclaimed Kendra.

"Yeah, but how?" asked Windshear.

"Open," said Warren. "The city would only reveal itself to you. And you said the magic word. Open."

"Just like the doors in Murdred's castle," said Kendra. "But, I'd rather not conflate that place with here."

"I knew it!" blurted Seth. "I knew that the door would open by saying a magic word! You guys tried to tell me that I was wrong! But I was right. Sort of!"

"The city of Wingadoon," said Windshear, gazing through the open gate. "It's waiting for us. It's right here. We can just walk into it. Finally. I can visit my ancestral home."

"What awaits us on the other side, Seth?" asked Ingrid, as she gazed into the gate. "What will we find once we enter Wingadoon?"

"I don't know," replied Seth, grasping Ingrid's hand in his own. "But we're all about to find out."


	13. City of Angels

**Chapter 13: City of Angels**

Taking a deep breath, Kendra cautiously stepped forward and into the cloudy veil that stood between the gates. Not knowing for sure what to expect on the other side, Kendra stuck her hand through the veil. Although the air up in the sky was normally fairly cold, her hand experienced an inexplicable feeling of warmth.

"The other side," said Kendra, as she pulled her hand back through the veil. "It feels... nice."

"It may seem intriguing," said Bright. "Let's just hope it's not a trap."

"I have to know!" blurted Windshear, as he reared up onto his hind legs. "I'm going in!"

"Easy," snapped Bracken. "If you go in before the rest of us, then we may not be able to get through!"

"Sorry," said Windshear softly, as he lowered his front hooves back down to the floor.

"Let's just do this together then," said Clover. "On three, everybody. One, two, three!"

As soon as Clover said three, the entire group charged directly through the gate as a small crowd. Once Kendra and Seth emerged on the other side of the gate, they took a moment to glance around at their new surroundings.

Instead of being surrounded by clouds in every direction, the group found themselves at the edge of what appeared to be a town. They were standing not on a cloud, but on a surface constructed entirely out of bricks, just like the platform outside of the gate.

The town in the distance was truly a sight to behold. It was made up of numerous buildings of various sizes, all of which bore cream-colored, oval-shaped roofs. Closer to where the group was standing, there appeared to be an array of sprawling gardens which sported trees, flowers and other flora, all of which looked to be well-tended.

"Is this Wingadoon?" asked Ingrid. "It's... gorgeous!"

"It's wonderful," said Windshear as he stretched his wings and neighed. "I'm finally here!"

"Come on," said Seth. "Let's check this place out!"

"Wait a moment," said Raxtus, glancing around. "Where is everybody?"

"They're probably all in their homes," said Skyfrost. "I mean, it's not like they were expecting visitors."

"It's so nice here," said Warren, sniffing the fresh air. "Who'd want to be inside on a day like this?"

"Seth, if a new video game just came out," said Kendra.

"Ha ha, very funny," said Seth.

"Come on," said Firesquall, "Enough with the stalling. Let's go find those angels already!"

"That is, assuming there are any other angels still around," said Windshear.

"Fine," said Bracken. "But we'll walk, not fly. If there _are_ any angels in this place, we wouldn't want them to feel like their home is being invaded."

The group proceeded to walk through the outer garden and into the city. They crossed a bridge that passed over a stream and soon entered the city proper, which appeared to have several _levels_ of streets, which were all connected by stairways and bridges.

The streets sported more gardens, along with fountains, hedge sculptures and flower arrangements. The buildings appeared to be built out of marble, if not a substance that closely resembled it. Many of the buildings appeared to be ornamented with gemstones and various precious metals.

"This place reminds me of the Fairy Kingdom," said Kendra.

"It does, doesn't it," said Bright. "But why shouldn't it? After all, fairies and angels are closely related. In a way, they're almost like evolutionary cousins to us."

"Still, this place definitely has its own vibe to it," said Clover. "It's just something I can't quite put my finger on. It's not the architecture. It's not the lesser use of crystals. It's... It's..."

"Empty," said Windshear, shaking his head frantically. "There's absolutely nobody else here!"

"Windshear's right," said Geminus. "This place feels like it's deserted."

"It does feel pretty quiet around here," said Seth.

"It's possible that this place really has been abandoned," said Bracken.

"No," said Windshear. "I don't want that!"

Raxtus sighed, then placed his claw on the pegasus' mane. "Windshear, whether or not that's true, you'll still always have us. And Stargleam. Don't you forget that."

"I know. But this is different."

"Hold on a second," said Kendra, as a thought flowed through her mind. "Bright, you were saying that angels and fairies are closely related. So, no doubt they're associated with light, yes?"

"Yeah," said Bright. "That's correct."

"Well, we've always been able to hone in on light energy before. Let's see if it'll work now."

"Good idea!" said Bracken. "Come on, Bright. Let's do this."

Bracken and Bright both looked at one another, then proceeded to transform into their unicorn forms.

"What are you two doing?" asked Ingrid, as the two unicorns stood in front of the group, their heads facing away.

Suddenly, both Bracken and Bright's horns began to glow white.

"I'm sensing something," said Bright. "It's that way."

"Me too," said Bracken, nodding in agreement.

"I still don't get it," said Ingrid.

"They're using their horns as dousing rods," said Warren. "And they've just picked up on a reading of unfamiliar light energy."

"Exactly," said Bright. "Follow us, everybody."

The two unicorns lead the way as they proceeded to walk down a street. After passing a few blocks, they turned their heads and gazed up at a staircase that was situated between two buildings.

"This way," said Bracken, as he and Bright began to trot their way up the stairs.

"Where do you suppose the relic is?" asked Ingrid.

"Beats me," replied Bracken. "If anything, it's an object of dark origin, and what we've picked up on is light energy."

"Guess we can try looking for it after this then," said Kendra.

The group followed Bracken and Bright through the city a fair bit longer, before stopping in front of a large building on the upper-most level of the city. Roughly the size of Viola's barn, it was similar in design to the other buildings in town. However, the windows appeared to be completely opaque. It was impossible to see through them.

"Whatever it is," said Bracken, "it's coming from in here."

Both unicorns were now facing the building, and were staring at it intensely. The light that was pulsating from their horns was now glowing brighter than ever.

"We're close," said Bright. "Very close."

The entrance to the building consisting of a pair of marble double doors, Kendra grasped her hand around the right-hand handle. She attempted to pull it open, but it wouldn't budge. She tried pushing it, but had no success. She then clenched the other handle, but was unable to move the left door in any way either.

"Perhaps we should knock," said Clover, as Bracken and Bright both returned to their fairy forms.

"Let me try something," said Windshear. "It worked outside, so maybe it'll work here. Open."

Suddenly, a click came from the doors, both of which gradually swung outwards, revealing a doorway.

"Here it is," said Ingrid, clenching Seth's hand firmly. "The moment of truth."

The group passed though the doorway and into the building. Now that they were inside, they could see that the place was furnished with exquisite looking furniture, including couches, chairs, tables, and even a bed. All of it looked like it belonged in an old castle, but appeared to be in perfect condition.

"What is this place?" asked Bracken.

"Hello?" asked Seth, who was unable to find anybody inside.

"Sure, give us all away, why don't ya?" asked Kendra.

"Do you have a better idea, Kendra?" snapped Seth.

"There's nobody here," said Skyfrost, shaking his head.

"Oh yes there is," said Bright. "At this range, I don't even need my horn to sense them."

Bright and Bracken began to walk through the room, over towards the far wall, and the others followed them. As they passed by some of the furniture, Kendra admired the style that had gone into it. It was unlike anything that she had ever seen before.

Bright and Bracken stopped in front of a door at the far end of the room.

"It's here," said Bright.

"Let's save ourselves some trouble," said Windshear. "Open."

The door remained closed.

"This door doesn't look too tough," said Firesquall. "Want us to try breaking it down?"

"Please," came a feminine voice on the other side of the door. "Go away!"

"Who are you?" exclaimed Bracken.

"Just leave me alone!" cried the voice. "I'll give you whatever you want! Just promise that you'll leave this place and never return!"

"We come in peace," said Bright.

"You have monsters with you! Two wyverns! I saw them!"

"Did you not see the pegasus?" asked Windshear.

"Pegasus?" asked the voice. "No! It can't be. It's a trick!"

"How do you think we even got here?" asked Warren.

"We promise we won't hurt you," said Bright. "In the name of the Fairy Queen, you have my word."

A moment later, the sound of the door unlocking could be heard, and it opened up. Standing on the other side of the door was a woman with a pair of feathered wings. An angel.

Everybody was speechless. The feathers on the angel's wings were as white as silk. The wings themselves were quite larger, more so than those on a fairy angel such as Bright or Clover. The angel herself was tall and slender, with smooth skin, long blonde hair and striking blue eyes. She was also wearing a long robe, which was as clear and white as her feathers. Her body seemed to be giving off a calm, yet soothing aura.

"You," gasped Kendra. "You're an angel!"

"Who are you people?" asked the angel, as a pegasus slowly emerged from the doorway. The pegasus' fur and wings were both pink, though it sported a purple mane and tail.

"A pegasus!" exclaimed Windshear, as he trotted over to the other pegasus. "I don't believe it! I've finally met another pegasus!"

"My sentiments exactly," said the angel, as she eyed the two pegasi, both of whom stretched their wings and rubbed their noses together.

"I think some introductions are in order," said Bracken, as he cleared his throat. "I am Bracken, and this is my sister, Bright. Both of us are fairy angels, as well as siblings of the Fairy Queen."

"I'm Clover," said the green fairy. "Another fairy angel."

The humans and dragons all took turns introducing themselves as well.

"And who is the pegasus?" asked the angel.

"Oh, I'm Windshear," said the purple pegasus, backing away from the unfamiliar pink one.

"Very well," said the angel. "My name is Hope. And the pegasus..."

The pink pegasus let out a neigh.

"What'd it say?" asked Seth.

"That's right," said Bright. "Windshear has been enchanted with a translation spell. That's why we can understand him, but not this other pegasus."

"Translation spell?" asked Hope. "Well, if you can't understand her, her name is Air Flair."

"This is incredible," said Warren. "I thought that you angels were long extinct. No offence or anything."

"With the exception of myself," said Hope, "we pretty much are. Hmm. I can see that we have a lot that we'd like to discuss. Let's have a seat."

Hope led the group over to a table and proceeded to start arranging chairs up against it.

"I'm afraid I don't have enough seats for everybody," said Hope, shaking her head.

"Not to worry," said Bracken. He then waved his hands around and unleashed a gust of rainbow sparkles around the table. Suddenly, the table was now surrounded by chairs, these ones more akin to the kind that were back home at Fablehaven.

"That's incredible," said Hope, as she sat down on one of the chairs that Bracken had conjured up. "Your magic is amazing!"

The humans and fairies all sat down in the rest of the seats and were now all sitting at the round, oak table. The dragons and horses all remained standing.

"It's so reassuring to know that there are other pegasi out there," said Hope. "There wouldn't be any others like Windshear, are there?"

Bright shook her head. "Sorry. Windshear is the only one we know of. It's because of him we were even able to reach Wingadoon."

"Windshear, how did you get to where you are now?"

"Well," replied Windshear, "A long time ago, I was abducted and taken into the Demon Domain, where I was held prisoner. I was there for so long, I pretty much survived my own extinction. It wasn't until very recently when these kind souls who I'm with showed up and liberated me.

"Incredible," said Hope. "But how did you even discover Wingadoon?"

"Long story short," replied Warren, "we came across a book that led us here. It it weren't for Windshear, we never would have found this place."

"And who exactly are all of you?" asked Hope. "If you've befriended a pegasus, I can't imagine that you're bad people. Like us angels, no pegasus would ever abide by anyone whom they mistrust."

"We are Knights of the Dawn," said Kendra. "We're an organization of people who do everything in their power to ensure that the world of magical creatures is in safe hands. Most of us live on a preserve dedicated to magical creatures, including Windshear himself."

"A preserve for magical creatures?" asked Hope.

"Yeah, we keep creatures safe from both predators and the progressive human world."

The group went on to tell Hope all about what Fablehaven was like, and how it and other preserves exist to provide a safe refuge for magical creatures.

"Now, if you don't mind us asking," said Bracken, "how did you and Windshear get to be the only ones remaining in Wingadoon?"

Hope sighed. "It's a depressing story. But all the same, I owe it to you all to tell it. You see, a long, long time ago, Wingadoon was a thriving community, bustling with angels and pegasi. It was a marvellous place to live. There was no conflict among its residents, and everybody was happy."

"However, while we resided in Wingadoon, as angels and pegasi, our real duty was to bestow good fortune upon the less-fortunate residents of Earth, as our mere presence brings good luck and prosperity. Now, we always took the effort to make sure that we were never seen, and for a while, this plan worked properly."

"So, what exactly went wrong?" asked Ingrid.

"Well eventually, people started to catch on to us," replied Hope. "Before long, many of them started setting up traps to capture us, if not to keep us as prisoners, than to harvest our wings and other organs."

"What?" gasped Kendra. "That's inhumane!"

"They didn't care. And the more we got captured, the more that humans started to know about us. Many of our kind attempted to rescue those that got captured, but most of these attempts only ended in failure."

"If heading down to Earth was becoming so dangerous, why continue?" asked Seth.

"Because not only is it our nature to assist the less-fortunate," replied Hope, "but we could sense that there were still good people down there who still needed our aid. So while we did what we could to help those in need, in the end, things became futile."

"How so?" asked Clover.

"Those angels and pegasi that got captured, but not killed. Their captors were able to coax out of them information on how to reach Wingadoon, then used their guidance to come back here and lay siege on the city. Many times. We did what we could to drive them off, but there were always casualties on both sides."

"So eventually, it came to a point where you and Windshear were the only ones left, then?" asked Bright.

"During the last attack, all of the angels and pegasi worked to drive the invaders out of the city. It worked, but almost everybody was killed in the process. Only Windshear and myself managed to survive. At first we thought that there could have been other survivors. The two of us went so far as to take turns searching the planet for years and years, but we never found anybody else. So we came to the conclusion that they were all dead."

"That's so sad," said Kendra.

"I didn't know what to do at that point," said Hope, her eyes now in tears. "The only comfort we had in being the last known members of our kind meant that nobody could take advantage of our kin and use them to return to Wingadoon. Having nearly lost faith in humanity altogether by this point, Windshear and I opted to remain here, knowing that at while we may be alone, we were at least safe."

"I'm so sorry," said Bracken. "If there's anything we can do..."

"Can you bring back the friends and family that we lost?"

Everybody shook their heads.

"I should have figured it was a lost cause," said Hope. "Sorry, it's just been so long that I've had anybody new to talk to. Had it not been for Windshear, I would have completely lost my mind."

"I can't believe some people would be so cruel as to hunt down angels and pegasi," said Ingrid. "It's despicable."

"I've known that good people were out there all along," said Hope. "I can sense that light energy is radiating from all of you folks, or at least positive vibrations."

"So for all these years, it's just been you and Windshear living here in Wingadoon?" asked Seth.

"That's correct. We've worked to keep the town looking beautiful and pristine all this time, if only because it is our nature to perform good deeds."

"It seems like such a beautiful place," said Bright. "Would you mind giving us a tour?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way," replied Hope. "Windshear and I haven't really been outside today anyway. We can continue our conversation while we go for a walk."

"Good, 'cuz we've got a couple more _questions_ for you," said Warren, as he winked to his allies.

Seth nodded. He had a good feeling that he knew what Warren was talking about. It had to be about the relic.


	14. Longshots

**Chapter 14: Longshots**

The group proceeded to follow Hope and Air Flair back outside of the angel's house. Being situated at the top-most level of the city, the viewpoint from where they currently were was most impressive. Beneath them, the group could see rooftops, trees and parks strewn across the land.

"This really is a beautiful city you have," said Bright, as Hope led the group down the pathway. "But, if you two are the only ones living here, how do you get it looking so well-tended?"

"Well, as long as we're the only ones here, it's not like we've had anything better to do," replied Hope. "Keeping the city in prime condition seems to have helped us get through all of these lonely years of being alone. But now..."

Hope walked up to an area where a waterfall was gushing down the hillside next to the walkway. The distance between the walkway and the waterfall was just enough to the point where one could get in close, but wouldn't actually get wet. Although the sounds of the pouring water was loud, it wasn't enough to mute out anybody's voice. She then turned to face the waterfall and gazed up at its top.

"It sounded like you were going to say something," said Ingrid.

"Well," said Hope. "It's just that... deep down inside... I had been hoping that somewhere out there... there could have been another angel. But I guess that it was never meant to be."

"Never say never," said Bracken. "After all, we believed that pegasi had been hunted to extinction. But look at Windshear here."

Hope turned around, walked over to Windshear and stroked his blue mane.

"As grateful as I am for the mere fact that you still even exist, we can't deny that it's due to dumb luck. Had you not been taken prisoner into the Demon Domain, there's a good chance you too would've been hunted down.

"I've thought about that before," said Windshear. "I'm very lucky to even be free, let alone alive."

Air Flair then stood up on her hind hooves and let out a bellowing neigh.

"What's Air Flair doing?" asked Kendra.

"She's expressing her gratitude for Windshear," replied Hope. "She wants to go for a fly around. Just the two of them."

"I'm not even going to ask first," said Windshear, as he extended his wings. "I haven't flown with another pegasus in forever!"

Before anybody else could react, both pegasi extended their wings and proceeded to fly up, off of the platform, then flew off across the town.

"That looks like fun," said Seth. "Let's follow them!"

"I think not," said Clover, shaking her head. "Both of those pegasi are ecstatic to have had the fortune of meeting one another. I think the two of them need some alone time to get acquainted with each other."

"Oh, I gotcha."

"Hope, I don't want to delay this any further," said Warren, "but I'll just come out and say it."

"What's that?" asked the angel.

"You know how we told you that we found out about Wingadoon in a book?"

"Yeah."

"Well, this same book also spoke of a certain relic."

Hope shook her head. "I'm not sure what you're talking about. We used to have many treasures in this city. But they were all plundered when attackers came to raid Wingadoon."

"I don't get it," said Seth. "The book said that the relic allegedly _was_ here."

"That book was written a long time ago," said Kendra. "Obviously before the relic was stolen."

"Maybe there's a chance that it's still here?"

"Excuse me," said Hope, shaking her head. "But exactly what relic is this?"

"We're not entirely sure," replied Bracken. "You see, we've been tracking down these special relics of demonic origin. And we came across a lead. A certain book which stated that one of the relics had been taken to Wingadoon for safekeeping."

"A relic of demonic origin?" asked Hope. "Never in Wingadoon. We'd never endorse a treasure of darkness."

"The treasure itself wasn't necessarily bad," said Kendra. "It depends on how one would use it."

"So what's this relic even supposed to be?"

Warren proceeded to pull the Sapphazure out from his bag. A triangular jewel, the golden relic had a large sapphire embedded into it, which glistened in the sun as Warren displayed it for Hope.

"This is one of the other relics," said Warren. "The Sapphazure. It has the power to expel water. Kendra, you mind showing yours?"

"Okay," said Kendra, as she removed the Emerock from her bag and showed it to Hope. "This is the Emerock. It can manipulate earth."

"These relics have control over water and earth?" asked Hope.

"Sure do," said Warren, as he clenched the Sapphazure in one hand. He then aimed it over the edge of the walkway, and a small blast of water came gushing out, which trailed down to the city below.

Likewise, Kendra noticed some vines growing on a nearby wall. She held up the Emerock to the vines and proceeded to make one of the vines extend off of the wall and fall down to the floor of the walkway.

"Impressive," said Hope. "But, how do I know that it's those relics that are capable of this, and not a magic trick by you fairies?"

"Please," said Kendra. "We're not trying to fool you. Honest."

Hope winced. "I don't know what it is. But for some reason, I trust what you have to say."

"Thank you. But what we're looking for is another relic. One with control over another element."

"Unless of course it's... the Necromaster.

"Necro-what?" asked Hope.

"Well, there's five relics in the set," said Warren. "The Sapphazure and Emerock are the two we have. Supposedly, a third one was brought here to Wingadoon. The Necromaster, Pyruby or Diavolt."

"Not that I'm aware of any such relic," said Hope, "but what do they do?"

"Well, the Necromaster..." said Bright, "it supposedly kills anybody instantly."

"Why would you even want such a thing?" gasped Hope.

"It's a long story," said Seth. "But we need it to defeat Murdred, ruler of the Demon Domain."

"No idea about any Necromaster. The very idea of such a thing sickens me."

"Well, perhaps it could be the Pyruby, or the Diavolt," said Ingrid. "Those relics wouldn't be so devastating. They're said to have control over fire and electricity, respectively."

Hope froze for a moment, then began to rub her forehead. "Wait a moment. That rings a bell."

"What does?" asked Seth.

"Fire. I _do_ recall there being an object that could produce fire. It's been so long, though."

"There was?" asked Warren. "What did it look like? Was it like one of our relics, only containing ruby?"

"I can't remember _what_ it looked like. It's just been a long time, and we had many coveted treasures over the years. But there definitely was one that was connected to fire."

"Do you have _any_ idea what happened to it?" asked Bracken.

"It was stolen..."

"By who?" asked Seth.

"I'm thinking..." muttered Hope. "Oh yeah! The thieves who took it nearly burnt down half the city before we drove them off! Now I remember! They were from the Rodin Tribe!"

"The Rodin Tribe?" asked Kendra, unable to recollect ever hearing that name before in her life.

"Can't say I'm familiar with them," said Warren. "Anybody?"

The rest of the group all shook their heads in response.

"You know anything about this Rodin Tribe, Hope?" asked Clover.

Hope shook her head. "Can't say that I do. Sorry. All I know is that they're from Earth.

"Well, hopefully somebody out there knows something more about the Rodin Tribe," said Ingrid.

"If there still even_ is_ a Rodin Tribe left," noted Raxtus. "They could be long gone. And whose to say that the Pyruby, if they were indeed the ones who stole it, is still even with them?"

"We mustn't jump to conclusions," said Warren. "Right now, our biggest lead is the Rodin Tribe. If we can find them, we'll be one step closer to finding the Pyruby.

Seth then shook his head, then stomped his foot on the ground.

"Seth, what's wrong?" asked Kendra.

"Who cares about this stupid Pyruby, anyway?" grumbled Seth. "It's not even the relic we're searching for! Why can't we just find the stupid Necromaster already and finally be done with Murdred? That's the relic we actually need. Besides, if we really want fire, we've got Firesquall on our side."

"Yeah, leave the firebombing to me," said Firesquall.

"You seem to be forgetting something," said Bright. "Even though it doesn't concern us, the Rodin Tribe stole a valuable that didn't belong to them. The Pyruby may not be a priority, but the least we can do is make an effort to retrieve it to its rightful spot in Wingadoon.

"But what about the Necromaster?" asked Skyfrost. "Seth has a point, you know. Why devote our time and effort into finding another one of these relics if it won't be of any use for us? I mean, I'm sorry that the Pyruby got stolen all those years ago, but the Necromaster seems a bit more important."

"The Necromaster is our number one priority," said Bracken. "However, this has been the first real lead we've come across in regard to the relics since we found out about Storm Sanctum."

"Not only that, Skyfrost," said Kendra, "but we went to Storm Sanctum, even though the Necromaster wasn't there. And if we hadn't have gone, you and Firesquall would still be up there, hiding from Revlogg.

Firesquall nodded. "She's got a point, Skyfrost. By not going after what mattered to them the most, the Knights _did_ manage to find us."

"Besides," said Warren. "We still don't know where the Necromaster, or even the Diavolt are at this point. If we've got nothing better to do, we might as well try to recover the Pyruby. Heck, this isn't even about gaining a tool for ourselves. It's about returning something to where it truly belongs."

"Hold on a moment," said Bright, wincing. "How are we even supposed to go about retrieving the Pyruby from the Rodin Tribe? This is assuming they're still around, and we can even find them. From what Hope has told us, they don't exactly sound friendly."

"There's no guarantee that we'll find anything at all," said Raxtus. "We're lucky enough that we even managed to make it to Wingadoon in the first place."

"Well, we have to at least try," said Seth. "I supposed getting information out of all of this is better than getting nothing at all."

At this point, Air Flair came soaring down from above and landed next to Hope. The pegasus let out a powerful neigh, then went galloping off down the path.

"What's up with her?" asked Ingrid.

"I'm not sure," said Hope. "But she sounded upset.

"Air Flair!" cried Windshear, as he descended downwards from above and landed in front of the group.

"Windshear," said Geminus. "What's wrong with Air Flair?"

"Oh, I said the wrong thing to her!" muttered Windshear, who sounded rather nervous. "She got so mad! And now I feel awful! I'm sorry! I just want to apologize!"

"Calm down," said Seth. "What did you even do to make her so upset?"

"I just want to find her."

Hope rolled her eyes. "I think I know where she went. Follow me."

Hope proceeded to lead the group down walkway, then started to descended down a flight of stairs that had been constructed along to hillside. The group followed close behind the angel.

"So, what was it that you said to Air Flair that got her so upset?" asked Seth. He expected Windshear to give him a response, but the purple pegasus remained silent.

"Where exactly are we going?" asked Ingrid.

"Air Flair has a little _alone spot_ located behind the waterfall," replied Hope. "Normally, I just leave her be. But I have a feeling that this matter is pretty serious."

Hope continued down to the bottom of the stairs, then walked along another path towards the base of the waterfall.

"She's probably in here," said Hope, as she proceeded to fly over the river and towards the waterfall.

"How're we supposed to get in?" asked Seth. "It looks kinda far."

"It's not the far that bothers me," said Firesquall. "It's the wet."

"Leave this to me," said Bright. She proceeded to wave her hands, producing a rainbow bridge that extended from the edge of the river and into the waterfall.

"That's amazing," said Hope, as the group started to walk across the rainbow towards the waterfall.

"It's weird, but I've seen weirder," said Ingrid, looking down through the transparent rainbow into the water that was flowing beneath her feet.

Everybody charged through the flowing water, get completely soaked in the process. On the other side was a small cave. Hope was lying down in the cave, apparently sobbing to herself. She stopped to look up at the group, then turned back and continued to cry.

"Air Flair," said Windshear, as he shook some excess water off of his body as though he were a wet dog. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry about what?" asked Seth, squeezing water out of his shirt. "Come on, just tell us already."

Windshear sighed. "She asked me if I would stay with her in Wingadoon and start a family together. So, I kinda had to tell her about my relationship with Stargleam."

"Who's Stargleam?" asked Hope.

"A unicorn. And my mate. Look, I know that Air Flair was desperate, but I had to tell her that I was already in a relationship! I've already mated with Stargleam! I didn't mean to upset her. But Stargleam means a lot to me. I couldn't just abandon her. How was I supposed to know that there was another pegasus out there?"

"I see," said Hope. "After meeting you, once she found out about Stargleam, her dreams were shattered."

"Air Flair," said Bracken. "Don't be upset. This just wasn't meant to be."

Air Flair let out a long, drawn-out neigh.

"She looks so sad," said Ingrid.

"Can you blame her?" asked Hope. "She finally gets opportunity of a lifetime when another pegasus shows up, and a male one at that. Only to learn that he's already taken by a member of another species."

"It's... complicated," said Bright.

"Air Flair," said Windshear. "Please, don't hate me. I still want to be your friend. But at the same time, I can't just abandon Stargleam. She means a lot to me. And I mean a lot to her. Pegasus or unicorn, the two of us love each other."

"I've got an idea," said Hope. "If there aren't any other pegasi around, perhaps maybe there's a unicorn out there who would be interested in meeting Air Flair?"

"Another unicorn?" asked Bright. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but the only other unicorns that we know of, are us royal fairies. And we're more than just typical unicorns."

"Please consider!" exclaimed Hope. "Air Flair has nobody! Surely there must be a single, male unicorn out there somewhere."

Bracken sighed. "I'm very sorry. But I'm the only male unicorn that's still out there. And... I'm..."

At this point, Bracken turned around to face Kendra, and gave her a firm hug. From what Kendra could tell, Bracken was crying.

"Bracken," said Kendra. "Are you okay?"

Bracken shook his head, as tears continued to drip down his cheeks and onto Kendra's shoulder. "Kendra, I love you. And it's because of that that I can't lend myself to Air Flair."

"I wish we could help you," said Warren. "But unicorns are just too rare. Let alone male ones."

"Does it have to be another pegasus or unicorn?" asked Seth. "Would a centaur do? Or what about just hoking up with an ordinary horse?"

"Centaurs are incompatible with other creatures," said Bright. "Their lineage is too displaced from others to make them compatible with primates or equines."

"And if Air Flair were to mate with an ordinary horse," said Clover, "it wouldn't help the matter at all, assuming pegasi are anything like unicorns."

"Why not?" asked Kendra, as Bracken finally pulled himself away from her.

"The magic of pegasus genetics wouldn't be passed down if Air Flair mated with an ordinary horse. If only one parent is magical, then the non-magical parent must truly be in love with its mate. And let's face it, most animals don't really express love for each other. And horses are no different."

"What are Earth horses even like?" asked Hope. "Surely there must be one that understands love."

"Horse are affectionate creatures," said Warren. "But I can't see Air Flair falling in love with one, even out of desperation. And let's be honest, horses don't exactly comprehend love the same way all of us do."

"I guess we're just... lost causes," said Hope. "If there aren't any more options out there..."

"Hey, wait a minute," said Windshear. "Stargleam is pregnant!"

"That's nice."

"Allow me to elaborate," blurted Windshear. "That foal she's going to have. It could very well be a male. And pegasus or unicorn, some day it's going to mature. So in the future, there could very well be another male pegasus or unicorn. I mean, there's no guarantee that it's going to be a male, but it's something."

At this point, Air Flair stood up. She then walked over to Windshear, and proceeded to rub his nuzzle, then let out a soothing neigh.

"What is it?" asked Ingrid.

"I think she's happy again," said Hope. "Thank you, Windshear."

"But I said that I'm not certain. Stargleam may never give birth to a male. And it'll be years before it matures into an adult."

"That's okay. Air Flair's waited for a mate for eons with nothing to look forward to. A few more years for her will go by in no time."

"And even if Stargleam doesn't have a son," said Bracken, who was now smiling again, "I think there's still a chance."

"How so?"

"Male fairies are finally being born once again. There's nothing extraordinary about them now, but someday they'll grow up."

"But they're not even unicorns."

"They could be, if they were to marry into royalty," said Bracken, flashing a wide smile. And I've got four eligible sisters who would love to have husbands. And who knows. Someday I might even have a son of my own."

Upon hearing Bracken bring up the subject of having children, Kendra could feel goosebumps swelling up all over her body. She wanted to say something. But she couldn't. She was completely speechless.


End file.
